Kandhamal: Let’s get back to the basics

D N Singh

The sequence of developments in the case of a nun allegedly raped in strife-torn Orissa’s Kandhamal district in August has left everyone puzzled. The 29-year-old nun was gangraped at K Nuagaon village in Kandhamal and had filed the FIR with the Baliguda police station on August 26, but her case came into light around a month later and the spotlight has not moved since. At the time when Orissa police got into form, the nun refused to be a part of the probe. Citing how a crowd of about 40-50 armed men had paraded her almost naked on the streets in the presence of a dozen policemen, the nun said that the incident does not let her trust Orissa police. One can understand the psychology of a woman failing to repose faith on the force that allegedly turned a mute onlooker on August 25. Taking into account the nun’s stand, the case was consequently handed over to the state Crime Branch for further investigation. However, the nun failed to trust even the state Crime Branch and demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The apex court of India turned down her request. Unfortunately, the nun and her advisers did not respect the Court’s decision and decided to avert attendance at the Test Identification (TI) parade to identify the culprits. She further refrained from court appearances on health ground. Notbaly, she had left the state after filing the FIR on August 26 and investigators had failed to contact her since then. The nun remained untraced till she appeared before media in New Delhi on October 24 to reveal her tale of horror to the world. She was finally examined by a team of Crime Branch officials of Orissa police on November 19, three months after the incident. The question that arises is why the nun was trying to evade the officials. Why did not she meet the probing team earlier despite the latter’s continuous efforts to spot her? The Crime Branch has arrested 10 people in Kandhamal in connection with the alleged rape incident. The concern should be that the victim should be present to identify the culprit. The alleged rape victim had failed to attend the TI parade scheduled for November 20. Notably, the court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) at Baliguda had on November 10 asked the nun to attend the TI parade at Baliguda on November 20. But the nun has failed to turn up. The SDJM Court has now asked the Crime Branch to submit the report on November 24, thus rejecting the nun`s third consecutive plea for a shift in venue for the identification. The Kandhamal rape incident has got a lot of attention in media. What is annoying is to witness how the same media could fail to spare even a paragraph on the ` sanyasini` who was brutally slain by the killers along with the Swami in Jalaspeta ashram. In a way, the incident on the night of August 23 at Jalaspetta paled into history after a cursory mention in the channels and newspapers. Should crime against women of all communities not be treated at par? The issue is that a section of the foreign media willingly banks on the residual ingredients of hatred to unleash a hate campaign. The damage has already been done and efforts are on to restore normalcy. So, there is no need to churn out one-sided stories. Even Union Minister Sharad Pawar has admitted that while some people are still stranded in the relief camps, many from the villages are simply rotting in the jungles without even basic food supply. By over focussing on a story and ignoring the misfortune of others let us not lose the plot. Be it tribals or the dalits, both have fallen victim to the designs of politicians, who peddle lies disdainfully, or to some who in the guise of missionaries pump steam into such hate campaigns.