Screengrab taken from the viral video of the incident in Rajasthan (Twitter)
On August 31, a video of a woman being dragged and stripped by a man went viral on social media. The incident took place in the Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan. Following the video and a massive backlash, the state administration swung into action. An FIR (First Information Report) was registered, three days after the incident. As of September 2, eight out of 10 accused listed in the complaint had been apprehended.
Viral Video
A shocking video hit social media platforms on August 31. The video revived the horrors of Manipur as a woman was stripped in front of her family members and in-laws. The person doing so was the woman’s estranged husband.
The 21-year-old victim woman, a native of Pahada gram panchayat which falls under the Dhariyavad police station of Pratapgarh district was married to Nathu Meena a year ago. On August 30, the woman allegedly eloped with another man living in the same village.
Irked over this act, the woman’s husband and her in-laws, reached there and returned taking the victim. In order to teach her a lesson, the husband and family stripped the woman naked in front of all. The merciless family did not stop there as they later paraded her around the village. The incident is said to have happened on August 30.
After the incident, the woman reached out to the police seeking help, but to no avail, as the complaint was registered only after the video of the incident went viral on social media.
What said the police?
Giving details about the incident, Director General of Police (DGP) Umesh Mishra said, “The woman was punished by her in-laws. They took her to the village, where the incident took place. Her in-laws were angry with her because she was living with another man.”
As of September 2, the police arrested as many as eight accused out of ten named in the FIR registered by the victim woman.
Mishra said 10 people have been named in the FIR for molestation, thrashing the woman besides other relevant sections. Of these, eight, including the main accused, have been detained, it said. He said the victim lodged a complaint against her husband Kanha Gameti along with Suraj, Beniya, Netiya, Nathu and Mahendra for forcibly taking her on a motorcycle and parading her naked.
“The main accused Kanha, Netiya, Beniya and Pintu and a minor have been detained apart from spectators of the crime Punia, Khetia and Motilal,” the police statement said. Police also said that Kanha, Netiya and Benia got injured while trying to flee and are being treated at Pratapgarh District Hospital. “The search for the remaining accused is on. Additional force has been deployed for maintaining peace and law and order,” the statement stated.
Initial investigation revealed that the woman was in a relationship with another man, said Dhariyawad SHO Peshawar Khan. The police also said that six teams have been formed to arrest the accused and Pratapgarh Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar is camping in the village.
The accused have been booked under IPC sections 294 (pertaining to obscene acts), 354 (related to assaulting women), and 365 (involving kidnapping), along with section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
Political turmoil in the state
Following the outrage over the incident, Rajasthan’s chief minister Ashok Gehlot acknowledged the incident and posted from his X handle, “In Pratapgarh district, a video of a woman being stripped naked by her in-laws has surfaced in a family dispute with her in-laws. The Director General of Police has been instructed to send ADG Crime on the spot and take strict action in this matter. There is no place for such criminals in a civilised society. These criminals will be put behind bars as soon as possible and punished after being prosecuted in a fast-track court.”
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has also taken cognisance of the incident and criticised the police for its inaction before the video went viral. They have asked for a comprehensive report from the police within 5 days.
Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje alleged that the video of a pregnant woman being stripped in front of people was doing rounds on social media, but the administration was not aware of it. She also appealed to people to not share the video, saying the incident has put Rajasthan to shame.
Vasundhara Raje said in a post on X ” The crimes against women in the state have increase to such an extent that every other day Rajasthan has been shamed. The responsibility of making the state number one for crimes against women falls solely on the head of the Congress government. Why is the Chief Minister so helpless that his government can’t hear the cries of these women?
Crime against women in Rajasthan
Former state spokesperson, Bhartiya Janata Party, Laxmikant Bhardwaj while speaking with Organiser said, the law and order situation in Rajasthan is vulnerable under the Congress party’s rule. Crime against women is at its peak.
Sharing some data, he said, in the last 55 months of Congress rule, as many as 10 lakh cases of crime have been reported in a state like Rajasthan, which is known for its peaceful atmosphere. Out of these 10 lakh cases, around 1,90,000 cases are of atrocities against women, and over 30,000 cases are of rape. Rajasthan is becoming the hub of crime against women, as of now, 22 per cent of the total cases of rape are being reported from Rajasthan only.
In Bhilwara town, tensions gripped as clashes erupted between two communities over the abuse with a minor Hindu girl. Organiser reported the incident and it came to light that Muslim boys mixed urine with the water in the water bottle of a Hindu girl in school. Later, the principal refused to act and hence the victim’s family reached the Tehsildar’s office demanding action.
In a similar incident, two Islamists impregnated two minor girls within a year in Rajasthan’s Alwar. The police is yet to nab the accused identified as Sappi and Subhan. The father of the girls filed an FIR against the accused at the NEB police stations. The police have launched a hunt to arrest the accused who were absconding.
On August 17, a video of a woman being dragged on a car bonnet in broad daylight in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh surfaced on social media. There have been numerous instances of lawlessness in the state over the past few years. Taking note of the incident, the opposition Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), lashed out at the ruling Congress Government and demanded action. As the video went viral, the police swung into action.
On August 3, a 14-year-old girl went missing, and later her charred remains were recovered from a brick kiln in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. Following the case, the police arrested as many as seven miscreants on the charges of rape and murder. The frustrated father tried to jump into the pyre of his own daughter on August 7.
Another case exposing the substandard state of law and order in Rajasthan came to light on July 31. A video of a Muslim woman being thrashed and almost lynched, outside her house in Jaipur started making rounds on the internet. It turns out that she was beaten up by co-religionists for supporting Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) by painting slogans outside her house.
Law and order in Rajasthan
The state of law and order in Rajasthan is vulnerable, and the opposition is raising their voice against it through protests and dharnas. On the other hand, the Chief Minister of the state, Ashok Gehlot, is mum over the rising crime in the state. Under his government, a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) was sacked for asking questions on the rising crime rate.
India is a country with its majority population being Hindus; however, every now and then there are cases of oppression against them. In two recent incidents reported in Rajasthan, a similar mindset is being exposed. In one of the schools in the Alwar district, a Hindu student was thrashed for putting Tilak in school. In the other incident from Jodhpur, families protested after staff at a Christian school tore the poster of Hanumaji in the school.
In a crime that may send chills down your spine, a family of four, including a minor baby girl, were set ablaze after cutting their throats in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. The incident occurred in Osain village, almost 50 kilometres from the city. Notably, this accident took place in the home district of the current Chief Minister of the state, Ashok Gehlot. The opposition parties are questioning the CM over the state of “Law and order” in the state.
Notably, on July 21, the Minister of State, Rajendra Singh Gudha, was sacked by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for questioning his own Government at the State legislative assembly.
Days after being sacked from cabinet following his critical remarks against the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan Government over recent incidents of crimes against women in the State, Rajendra Singh Gudha on July 23 said, “Rajasthan is number one when it comes to crime against women.”
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