Bhopal: MP Home Minister Babulal Gaur has described rape as a social crime which depends on men and women. Sometimes it’s right and sometimes wrong, in the latest controversial remarks by an Indian politician about rape. Until there’s a complaint, nothing can happen, Gaur said reporters.
UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, where two cousins aged 12 and 14 were raped and hanged last week, has faced criticism for failing to visit the scene and for accusing the media of hyping the story.
Gaur also expressed sympathy with Mulayam Singh Yadav, head of the regional Samajwadi Party.
The father and uncle of one of the victims said they tried to report the crime to local police but had been turned away. Three men have been arrested over the killings. Two policemen were held on suspicion of trying to cover up the crime.
Although a rape is reported in India every 21 minutes on average, law enforcement failures mean that such crimes – a symptom of pervasive sexual and caste oppression – are often not reported or properly investigated, human rights groups say.
More sex crimes have come to light in recent days. A woman in a nearby district of Uttar Pradesh was gang-raped, forced to drink acid and strangled to death. Another was shot dead in northeast India while resisting attackers, media reports said.
We say no to the dismissive, destructive attitude of, Boys will be boys, he said in a statement this week that made clear his contempt for the language used by Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The BJP dismissed Gaur’s comments as an expression of his personal views, and not the party’s.
Bureau Report
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