“Those who chant Save the Daughter are saving Rapists”- WSS

On Friday, Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS), in a strongly worded statement, denounced the response of UP's State forces to the rape and murder of a young dalit girl, Manisha Valmiki. They also demanded the resignition of Yogi Adityanath.

hathras yogi wss

On Friday, Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS), in a strongly worded statement, denounced the response of UP’s State forces to the rape and murder of a young dalit girl, Manisha Valmiki. They also demanded the resignition of Yogi Adityanath.

The WSS is a non funded grassroots organisation that started in November 2009 to put an end to the violence that is forced upon women’s bodies by the state and society. They consist of a nationwide network of women from diverse political and social movements from various organisations and movements.

Those who chant “Save the Daughter” are busy saving the rapists!

Women Against Sexual Violence and Political Suppression (WSS) express concern over increasing sexual violence against women in Uttar Pradesh. With regards to the rape of Dalit women in Hathras and Balrampur, we strongly critique the negligent and complicit actions of the State forces, which have served the Savarna rapists, including burning the body overnight, erasing evidence of rape from the autopsy.
The WSS believes that in UP people, justice is a far cry for Women especially Dalit women. According to the National Crime Record Bureau, violence against women and Dalits in UP has increased in the last 2 years. UP has the highest record of crimes against women and dalits, as well as crimes against young girls. The Hathras incident of rape and murder of a valimiki girl has provided an example of these statistics.

Such a crime would shake any civilised society, which proves how deep rooted Manuvadi patriarchy is established in the society.

If that was not the case, it would not have taken a week for police to register FIR of the victim. The incident occurred on September 14 and by the 17th the SSP was made aware of the incident through a tweet. The police only registered an FIR and treatment of the injured girl started only after there was state-wide outcry. After the news spread only then the accused were arrested.

hathras police burn body
hathras police burn the dead body of the rape victim
It’s clear from their illegal actions that the police administration is trying to save the culprits. After the girl’s death in Safdarjung Hospital, the police created narratives that varied from her statement: that the rape did not happened, that they didn’t cut her tongue, or that she died of suffocation. For the police to make such statements even after the girl had given statement to magistrate that she was raped and named the accused is a crime in itself and raises questions about their intentions.
hathras wssThe UP Police broke law by kidnapped the girl’s dead body from the hospital to burn it in the middle of the night while the family kept on requesting the police to hand over the body to them repeatedly asked them so that they can do the cremation rituals in the morning. This is both inhumane and illegal. Thankfully, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court took cognisance and stated that this act was in violation of Article 21 of the Constitution, “the right to life”. The right to life includes respecting the person’s dead body. In disregarding the family’s wishes and disrespecting her dead body, the Hathras police committed an illegal act. We strongly condemn this too.

To save the upper criminals, the government is doing one criminal act one after another.

Instead of taking action against those who are accused in the rape and murder, the state is trying to suppress the victims’ family. There are videos in media that show the DM openly threatening the victim’s family. The police harassed the ABP journalist who tried to meet the family, and blocked the victim’s lawyer from meeting the family. Whether it is the upper caste rapists of the Hathras case or Chinmayanand, the governemnt is always seen saving the rapists. For them “Beti Bacho” (Save the Daughter) is just a slogan. How can we expect such a police state to bring justice?
The day when the police burnt the victim’s body in secret, another heinous case of the rape and murder of a Dalit girl from Balrampur district in UP came into light; the criminals broke the girl’s limbs sent her home on a rickshaw. When she reached home, she died. There is another incident from Azamgarh district. These highlight the state’s view towards women. Why is it that in each and every case of rape and murder, the police is seen protecting the upper caste rapists. Though the Government invokes Ambedkar, crimes against Dalits and women have increased. This only shows that the current government is against Dalits, women, Adivasis and minorities.
WSS strongly denounces the Government’s attitude. We demand a criminal lawsuit to be filed against the senior Police officers who tried to suppress the matter and burnt her victim’s body in secret. We also demand the resignation of Chief Minister Ajay Singh Bisht as his government is against Women, Dalits and minorities. Since the Hon’ble High Court has taken cognisance of the illegal nature of burning the body, the WSS urges them to get the matter investigated under their supervision, given the seriousness of the case and the conduct of the police. The WSS also requests that the victim’s statement given to the magistrate under section 164 be submitted in High court to prevent any tampering with it.

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March 2024
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