Man Rapes Woman On Footpath - What Happens Next? The Incident Gets Politicised

A man raped a woman on the footpath of Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain. The incident happened on September 4 at the Koyla Phatak, one of Ujjain's busiest roads. The onlookers shot video of the rape rather than helping the woman escape the rapist. The woman filed a complaint with the police the next day, September 5. FIR was registered and the accused, Lokesh, was arrested. 

As per the reports, Om Prakash Mishra, City Superintendent of Police (CSP), Ujjain told media, "Yesterday (Thursday) at around 3.30 pm, a woman came to the police station and reported that she had been raped. Immediately, a woman officer was called, her story was heard, and an FIR was registered after informing senior officers.”

The CSP further said that the woman named the accused as Lokesh. The police filed the FIR and immediately made a team to search Lokesh. He was arrested within two hours of the filing of the FIR. 

The accused is under judicial custody

The woman underwent a medical examination, and the accused was presented before the court on September 6. The police also got the video of the rape which served as the evidence. The court has sent Lokesh to judicial custody. 

CSP Mishra further said, “Apart from this, the statement of the woman was also recorded before the court today (Friday). The woman has confirmed the incident of rape before the court… A video of this incident was made, which also came to the police; we have taken it as evidence."

As per the woman's statement, the man had promised to marry her. He made her drink liquor and raped her on the footpath. 

Politics over the incident

While the case seems to have closed, the fumes of it are still suffocating the political parties. Congress is blaming BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh for the incident. Since the incident happened in the constituency of CM Moha Yadav, Congress is demanding a reply from the minister. Congress alleged the state's law and order is deteriorating. 

State Congress president Jitu Patwari said, "The BJP is protesting across the country against the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder incident… In Madhya Pradesh, 18 women are raped or face some form of harassment every day. Boundaries were crossed when in the chief minister’s constituency, a woman was raped on the footpath… Why is MP CM Mohan Yadav, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and PM Modi silent? There is a jungle raj (lawlessness) in Madhya Pradesh."

However, the other party, BJP, said that Congress is just trying to politicise the incident. BJP Madhya Pradesh president V D Sharma said, “The Congress has no issues to corner the Madhya Pradesh government and that’s why they try to give such a colour to the incident… The BJP government is the first government to introduce a law to give the death penalty to the perpetrators of these kinds of incidents… The accused has been arrested and the state government will ensure that strict action is taken against them." 

Can we then say personal is politics? Let's dig into this deeper 

Yes, every stance that we take is political. Even being apolitical is political. As far as India is concerned, it is the country where every incident invites warfare between opposite parties. Not that other countries do not have wars between opposite parties, but the democracy of India makes the warfare intense. 

Politicians purposefully make statements that will hit the citizens directly - creating either positive, negative or even laughter effect. All the politicians are hell-bent on gaining the support (not trust) of the citizens. The warfare feeds off crimes, the protests and the act of instigating the protestors against the particular party. 

Politicising rape: Why isn't it leading to any change?

The point here is not about politics. It is about women's safety. Men are raping women no matter which party comes to the rule. The rate of crimes against women, if you look at the surveys, is only increasing every year while conviction is still very low. 

When there is warfare between political parties regarding every issue, why is the country still lagging in terms of the safety of women? Kolkata rape case made CM Mamata Banerjee introduce a bill to give capital punishment to rapists. Hathras gangrape led to the launch of many operations to protect women in UP. The Nirbhaya rape case led to stringent measures against those who assault women and strong security in the state. 

But why did it require such brutal incidents to open the eyes of the politicians? Why did women have to lose their lives to gain the attention of the politicians to make strong laws against rape? 

Politicising: exchange of tweets and slogans?

Politicising must lead to some impactful change. If one party is being blamed, then the other must take responsibility for how it can improve the situation. The politicisation of crimes, specifically rape, only leads to an exchange of heavy-worded tweets and slogans between two parties. Suddenly, every party stands up and says, 'Bahu, betiyon ki suraksha' is their primary aim. But when we go through the party's promises and actions, rarely the penalisation of crime against women is the first moto. 

Certain incident comes to the notice and all parties start playing blame games. What about the rapes that happened during the blame game? What about the women who were assaulted when parties were trying to decide who was responsible for the crime? Why isn't anyone taking action if they are affected by the incident and want to bring a change? One rape case should have been enough for the government, no matter which party rules, to make stringent measures to stop another. 

What does politicising mean?

Ending the article with one thought: politicising an incident doesn't mean playing blame games provoking each other to say something or do something that will take the power away from them. This is again a war happening on the body of a woman. It is just another patriarchal act of subverting women by using them as the vote bank. But dear politicians, the women you are referring to as vote banks are either lifeless or at the edge of being lifeless.

Politicising rape and other crimes against women means blaming and taking responsibility for bringing the change. The aim of it should be women's safety, even if it means that the opposite parties come together.   

Views expressed are the author's own.