A representation image (News Darpan)
A video scandal unfolded in Karnataka, at a private eye hospital and nursing home, Netra Jyoti, located in Udupi, when some of the female students found cameras inside the bathrooms. Following the recovery, the college administration suspended as many as three girls with immediate effect. The incident is said to have happened on July 21.
As per the media reports, the accused students have been identified as Alimatul Shaifa, Shabanaz, and Aliya. They were all students at the nursing home. Netra Jyoti College of Udupi, located near the Ambalpady Bypass and is a famous nursing home in the area.
Accused students met an altercation with others
The matter escalated when it was revealed that all the accused students belonging to one community were collecting the clips of Hindu students only. Later on, they supplied these clips to the men in their community. Further reports indicate that the intrusive videos were not just limited to private sharing but were also disseminated on wider social media platforms. Many link this incident with the famous rape scandal in Ajmer, in 1992.
As soon as the truth came out, the Hindu students protested and demanded strict action be taken against the perpetrators. However, a scuffle broke out as the accused clashed with them, leading to high tensions in the college.
The administration suspended accused students
Later, taking the situation under control, the college administration issued a notice, stating that all three accused girls would stay suspended until further orders. By then, the incident had made it to the media headlines, and activists had also reached the college.
Notably, the local Hindu activists extended their support to the students and protested against the college administration, demanding exemplary action in the case.
Victims want police probe
The college students also approached the Udupi Superintendent of Police, Akshay Hoque, demanding legal action so that nothing of this sort is repeated in the coming future. So far, the police have not made a public report about what happened.
Ajmer 1992 connection
The recently released film Ajmer 92 is inspired by true events and is based on the famous ‘Ajmer Rape Case of 92’. More than 100 girls in their teens and early twenties were gang-raped repeatedly and subjected to blackmail in Ajmer, Rajasthan, in 1992. These cases are often called the Ajmer rape case of 1992.
A group of young men led by Farooq and Nafis Chishty, two prominent Khadim family members who also handled the caretaking of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah. Victims were enticed into a rural farmhouse or cottage over a period of years, concluding in 1992, where they were sexually raped by one or more men. In addition, the offenders also collected and revealed the victims’ naked or exposed photos as leverage in a blackmail scheme to keep the women silent.
A local newspaper, Dainik Navajyoti, published an article detailing the crimes’ circumstances and including some of the photos, the rapists had taken, which brought the incident to light. The police started an investigation into the affair at the same time. The local government reportedly knew about the incidents for up to a year before but decided to delay pursuing legal action.
The Hijab debate
In defiance of the long-standing uniform code of the Indian educational system, five Muslim female students from Udupi organised a protest against the dress code barring the wearing of the hijab at educational institutions. The demonstrations quickly descended into violence as some Muslims across India participated in riots, vandalism, and stone-pelting. Muslim women contended that it was their right to cover their heads and bodies in front of men, including their peers.
Ironically, girls from the community that refuses to follow the rules because it is necessary for them to cover up in front of men have videotaped women from other communities in their most vulnerable situations and provided the footage to the men in their community so they could take advantage of their weakness.
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