Need for preventive action against rape

Four gang rapes in less than three months, with the latest victim murdered, have highlighted the need to enhance women’s security and strengthen law and order in Tamil Nadu. More worryingly, the accused targeted three survivors along with their male companions in public places. In another case, a youth chased a woman, forcibly entered her house and allegedly raped her at knife point in the heart of Chennai.

gang rape in Vellore, Cuddalore, Namakali And rameshwaram were before a horrific event of A woman is being blackmailed and raped by four men and three teenagers in Virudhunagar over a period of seven months. In Vellore, a female doctor from Bihar and a male colleague were tricked into riding in a shared autorickshaw at night, with the accused pretending to be co-passengers. Both were robbed, the man was beaten up and the doctor raped. The victim woman left for Bihar and lodged an online complaint with the police. While the Vellore case had traces of the ‘Nirbhaya’ case in modalities, the Virudhunagar incident brought back memories of that time. 2019 Pollachi case In which the girls were blackmailed and abused and which the DMK then made an issue of publicity.

Two cases that came to the fore during the assembly session in March put Chief Minister MK Stalin to great embarrassment. Not long ago, as Leader of the Opposition, he questioned the central government for deciding Tamil Nadu, then ruled by BJP’s ally AIADMK, was the leading state in the Good Governance Index. He had asked how the Center can put Tamil Nadu first in ‘public safety’ when incidents like the Pollachi serial sexual abuse case happen. Therefore, he lost no time in announcing that the investigation and trial in the Virudhunagar case would be fast tracked and monitored to ensure maximum punishment to the accused. He vowed that the investigation would not be (slow and shoddy) like in the Pollachi case. He transferred the case to the Crime Branch-CID, which expedited the investigation and filed a heavy charge sheet against the accused. In the doctor’s case the accused persons were also arrested within days of the crime.

However, prompt actions of the administration did not prevent similar crimes from coming to the fore in Cuddalore, Namakkal and Rameswaram. In the previous incident, a woman who was working in a prawn unit was robbed, raped and murdered by two migrant workers from Odisha, triggering massive protests. The rapists have been arrested in all the cases. But it also had a different result with the municipal authorities in Rameswaram. The details of guest workers are being sought Selling pani puri and working in restaurants and construction sites, linking crime with migrants.

Sex crimes have in the past drawn strong reactions from Tamil Nadu politicians. The then Chief Minister in the background of ‘Nirbhaya’ case Jayalalithaa had called for amendment of central laws To provide for punishment such as death penalty and chemical castration for sex offenders. After the Hathras rape, Mr. Stalin did Promise to set up special courts To hear cases related to violence against women when his party comes to power. There are already women’s courts in the state.

To the credit of the government, no attempt was made to cover up rape cases. Mr. Stalin has made it a point to conduct surprise inspections in police stations whenever possible – something his predecessors had not done in decades. But what is needed is to take preventive action, strengthen the security of women and pay special attention to ‘visible policing’ with active role of senior police officers.

Sureshkumar.d@thehindu.co.in