Police van drove past but did not bother to check alleges family of Bulandshahr rape case victims

Lucknow, August 1: The family of the victims in the Bulandshahr gangrape case has come down heavily on the government and police for their inept handling of the case and has also alleged that a police van drove past the scene when the crime was happening but did not bother to check.

“Only we can understand how it feels when a woman and her daughter get beaten and raped in front of your eyes. I would request the government and judiciary to allow our women to shoot the culprit in public,” said the uncle.

“This was a gruesome human rights’ violation. But people raise cries of human rights violation when rapists are hanged, ” he said.

In what could be another major embarrassment for the police, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has revealed that the crucial (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) POCSO Act was missing from the FIR filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with the brutal gang-rape of a woman and her daughter in Bulandshahr district.

“The whole case is dependent on the FIR. When a minor girl has been gang-raped, there should have been POCSO. From NCW, we are clear that this is police apathy and callousness. They are trying to cover up the matter. There is a huge difference between what they are saying in front of the media and what they are actually doing,” said NCW chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam .

The family said the girl has high fever and her mother is in a state of mental and physical shock.

“We will take them to the hospital as they need further treatment. But we will fight it out. We want all agencies to understand our plight and we demand arrest of all those 7-8 men who assaulted our women,” the uncle added.

“The girl may not be able to attend her class for months now. She is severely traumatised and shattered.”

The Commission has also trashed the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) government in the State and a member said that in “Akhilesh rule, the compensation of a lost honour was Rs 1 lakh.”

Three people were arrested earlier today in connection with the case. “Rakesh, Savesh and Jawar Singh have been arrested in Bulandshahr gang rape and loot case,” Meerut DIG Lakshmi Singh told ANI.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties have demanded the resignation of UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and asked him to own up moral responsibility of the crime.

“There is complete lawlessness in the State for the last four years and the Chief Minister has not only failed to spruce up the law enforcement machinery, but has also failed to protect the women in the State,” said BSP chief Mayawati.

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Raj Babbar said the Bulandshahr incident was yet another blot on U.P. and exposed the ‘jungleraaj’ that the state was in.

The incident took place on Friday night when a 35-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter were allegedly gang-raped by a gang of armed robbers in Bulandshahr district while the male members of the family were tied up nearby.