States likes Uttar Pradesh have been a byword for lawlessness for ages. A bifurcation of the large state into two some years ago did not help Uttar Pradesh change its ways. The case of gang-rape of a teenage girl in Unnao by a BJP MLA in 2017 scripted a new chapter in the state’s history of lawlessness. Under tremendous public pressure, the MLA has been jailed and a CBI inquiry ordered, apparently to silence the people. But, the persecution of the girl as also her family, who filed a complaint with the police, continues. The latest was the incident in Rae Bareli, Sunday, when the vehicle in which the girl, her lawyer and relatives were travelling was hit upon by a truck that had its number plate blacked before the hit – a usual tactic adopted by gangs in premeditated road rages.
The past two years saw several incidents of persecution of the family, even as the girl approached the chief minister and state police chief for protection. Surprisingly, the police protection that had been given to her did not help avert the present tragedy – in which the girl is fighting for her life in a hospital and two of her relatives were killed as a result of the truck hit. The security personnel assigned to the girl’s protection avoided accompanying her when the incident took place.
So much was happening after the girl filed her complaint about rape. Her father had been attacked by the MLA’s kin and the man died while in police custody after he – and not the MLA’s kin — was arrested for “illegal possession” of firearms. An uncle of the girl too had been killed allegedly by the family of the MLA. Another uncle is now in jail on real or false charges slapped on him. All these go to show that the government of Yogi Adityanath has failed to protect the life of a harried girl and her family who are facing grave provocations and threat to their lives. It is not unusual for cops in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar to side with the accused and harass the victims in similar situations. Politicians in power have the extra edge.
What cannot go unnoticed is India’s numero uno chowkidar himself is silence personified. The chowkidar who promised to guard the lives of the people and the girl-child and the wealth of the nation did not speak a word so far on this matter. This goes to show that the election gimmicks that PM Narendra Modi and others play have no real meaning.