The stalking of a young lady in Chandigarh with the intent of abducting and then violating her modesty brings home the fact that the space for young, independent women in India is rapidly shrinking. They live very precarious lives and are prey to a new kind of machismo that gives the male a sense of impunity and entitlement to rape and molest. That the victim of the stalking incident is the daughter of a senior IAS officer of Haryana and the man who led the pack and stalked her like a predator is the son of the President of the BJP State Unit of the same state also means that justice is likely to be compromised. Else why would a stalker be released on bail just a few hours after he was arrested? While the police must be commended for responding to the young lady’s distress call, beyond a point they have had to yield to political pressure. While there is an attempt to politicise the issue and strong statements have emanated from Congress and CPI (M) spokespersons, it would be more appropriate for civil society groups and women’s organisations to take up the matter with the seriousness it deserves.
The father of the young lady, Mr V Kundu, has had to resort to social media to get justice for his daughter. He has given details of the harrowing experience as narrated by her which included jumping the street lights and driving furiously even while trying to call the police, to escape the clutches of her predators. Kundu says he has to fight for justice since he is the father of two daughters and that he needed to support his traumatized daughter who survived the ordeal only because of her grit and courage. It remains to be seen whether the BJP central leadership will take action against the wrongdoers in this horrific incident especially since Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised zero tolerance to crimes against women.
