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India needs the Delhi gang-rape suspects to have their day in court | India needs the Delhi gang-rape suspects to have their day in court |
(7 months later) | |
For Indians following the bungling process of bringing the men accused in the Delhi gang rape to justice, the last few months have been like watching Police Academy reruns. Sans the jokes. First the government teargassed and beat up protesters calling for action, many of them young girls. Once the trial began in a hurriedly set up fast-track court, the media were banned. Then it was revealed that the youngest accused, perhaps the most brutal of the lot, may go free in three years, if he is convicted. | For Indians following the bungling process of bringing the men accused in the Delhi gang rape to justice, the last few months have been like watching Police Academy reruns. Sans the jokes. First the government teargassed and beat up protesters calling for action, many of them young girls. Once the trial began in a hurriedly set up fast-track court, the media were banned. Then it was revealed that the youngest accused, perhaps the most brutal of the lot, may go free in three years, if he is convicted. |
Just when you thought the government couldn't possibly screw things up further, it did. On 11 March, chief suspect Ram Singh was found hanging from the ceiling of his cell in New Delhi's top security Tihar jail. Ram Singh was on suicide watch. Even more unbelievably, he shared his cell with three other inmates. Apparently, none of them noticed when he hung himself with a rope made from clothes and a blanket, while standing on a bucket. It then reportedly took two whole hours for jail staff to inform the police. Singh also had a deformed right arm, which might have made it difficult for him to hang himself. Initial postmortem reports suggested suicide, but many are questioning that version of events. | Just when you thought the government couldn't possibly screw things up further, it did. On 11 March, chief suspect Ram Singh was found hanging from the ceiling of his cell in New Delhi's top security Tihar jail. Ram Singh was on suicide watch. Even more unbelievably, he shared his cell with three other inmates. Apparently, none of them noticed when he hung himself with a rope made from clothes and a blanket, while standing on a bucket. It then reportedly took two whole hours for jail staff to inform the police. Singh also had a deformed right arm, which might have made it difficult for him to hang himself. Initial postmortem reports suggested suicide, but many are questioning that version of events. |
Singh's distraught parents allege that he was murdered, saying he had complained of being beaten and sodomised by other inmates. Sheepish home minister Sushilkumar Shinde admitted a "serious security lapse" by jail authorities and did what ministers usually do when they want unpleasant things to go away quickly: order an inquiry. | Singh's distraught parents allege that he was murdered, saying he had complained of being beaten and sodomised by other inmates. Sheepish home minister Sushilkumar Shinde admitted a "serious security lapse" by jail authorities and did what ministers usually do when they want unpleasant things to go away quickly: order an inquiry. |
Many Indians, even the most liberal, rejoiced that the victim had got what he deserved. "One down, five more to go," said several comments on cyberspace. "Why are the media crying about this murderer?" asked one commenter on a newspaper website. "Now we need to kill the others." | Many Indians, even the most liberal, rejoiced that the victim had got what he deserved. "One down, five more to go," said several comments on cyberspace. "Why are the media crying about this murderer?" asked one commenter on a newspaper website. "Now we need to kill the others." |
These comments may seem bloodthirsty, barbaric even, but there's no avoiding the fact that the Indian public is sick to death of traditional attitudes to rape in their country. We know, from long, bitter, angry experience, what happens to many rapists in India. They are let off by police, or spend years out on bail, while the clogged legal system lumbers along. Out of 635 rape cases filed in New Delhi in 2012, only one resulted in a conviction. Given these circumstances, is it really so wrong to celebrate the death of a man accused of such evil? | These comments may seem bloodthirsty, barbaric even, but there's no avoiding the fact that the Indian public is sick to death of traditional attitudes to rape in their country. We know, from long, bitter, angry experience, what happens to many rapists in India. They are let off by police, or spend years out on bail, while the clogged legal system lumbers along. Out of 635 rape cases filed in New Delhi in 2012, only one resulted in a conviction. Given these circumstances, is it really so wrong to celebrate the death of a man accused of such evil? |
Yes, it is. However shamefully good it might feel, this isn't justice. If Singh killed himself, he chose the time and manner of his death, a luxury not granted to the victim. If he didn't, and was killed, he never had his day in court, a right that all accused deserve, even the most despicable. What does it say about India's criminal justice system that it can't even keep prisoners in a maximum security prison safe? So unsafe do the other accused feel that they are now pleading to be shot rather than be kept in Tihar. | Yes, it is. However shamefully good it might feel, this isn't justice. If Singh killed himself, he chose the time and manner of his death, a luxury not granted to the victim. If he didn't, and was killed, he never had his day in court, a right that all accused deserve, even the most despicable. What does it say about India's criminal justice system that it can't even keep prisoners in a maximum security prison safe? So unsafe do the other accused feel that they are now pleading to be shot rather than be kept in Tihar. |
We also need to consider if Singh's death, as the alleged ringleader of the conspiracy, will hurt the chances of bringing the other five suspects to justice. Kiran Bedi, a well-known retired Indian police officer and former head of Tihar jail, was quoted as saying the death would have no impact. "It just means one suspect less." But others have voiced fears that the case against the rest of the accused may be affected, given Singh was alleged to be the driver of the bus. | We also need to consider if Singh's death, as the alleged ringleader of the conspiracy, will hurt the chances of bringing the other five suspects to justice. Kiran Bedi, a well-known retired Indian police officer and former head of Tihar jail, was quoted as saying the death would have no impact. "It just means one suspect less." But others have voiced fears that the case against the rest of the accused may be affected, given Singh was alleged to be the driver of the bus. |
Either way, the Delhi gang rape case is a golden opportunity to do things right, to set a precedent for rape trials. International outcry forced the lethargic government to bring the case to trial in less than a month after the rape. Meanwhile, one of the lawyers of the accused has blamed the victim, saying, "I have not seen a single incident or example of rape with a respected lady." | Either way, the Delhi gang rape case is a golden opportunity to do things right, to set a precedent for rape trials. International outcry forced the lethargic government to bring the case to trial in less than a month after the rape. Meanwhile, one of the lawyers of the accused has blamed the victim, saying, "I have not seen a single incident or example of rape with a respected lady." |
We need those accused of rape to see their day in court, we need victims (or their families) to have their say, so we can decimate victim-blaming arguments like these. We need to establish, once and for all, that women have a right to go out late at night, dress the way they want, in the company they choose. | We need those accused of rape to see their day in court, we need victims (or their families) to have their say, so we can decimate victim-blaming arguments like these. We need to establish, once and for all, that women have a right to go out late at night, dress the way they want, in the company they choose. |
In India, it is often the courts that begin the process of lasting change, slow though it may be. It was the supreme court that established as long ago as 1972, in the Mathura case, that the character of a rape victim, or her previous sexual experience, was immaterial. That led to an important change in rape laws in 1983, with the burden of proof no longer on the victim to prove rape. In January 2013, prompted by the rage over the Delhi rape, a furious supreme court ordered lower courts to try rape cases every day and speed the process up. | In India, it is often the courts that begin the process of lasting change, slow though it may be. It was the supreme court that established as long ago as 1972, in the Mathura case, that the character of a rape victim, or her previous sexual experience, was immaterial. That led to an important change in rape laws in 1983, with the burden of proof no longer on the victim to prove rape. In January 2013, prompted by the rage over the Delhi rape, a furious supreme court ordered lower courts to try rape cases every day and speed the process up. |
More changes in rape laws are needed, as well as substantial changes in the attitude of its police – and India needs its courts to bring them in. Kangaroo courts with vigilante justice will accomplish nothing. | More changes in rape laws are needed, as well as substantial changes in the attitude of its police – and India needs its courts to bring them in. Kangaroo courts with vigilante justice will accomplish nothing. |
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