Even three days after the brutal gang rape and murder of a young widow in the state capital, the Uttar Pradesh police seemed clueless about the case. The victim's family have demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident and said the culprits should be hanged.
Even though the police officers' lips may be zipped due to a complete lack of information about the rapists, it did not stop ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) 'netas' from rubbing handfuls of the proverbial salt into the wounds of the victims' grieving relatives.
While SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said incidents of rape in UP were minimal in proportion to its huge population, his younger brother and cabinet minister Shivpal Yadav said crimes in UP were more visible as it was a big state. Another SP minister, Raj Kishore, went to the extent of saying that law and order have improved in UP as compared to the previous BSP regime.
"If anywhere such crimes (rapes) are minimum, it is in UP. The state has a population of 21 crore. Considering that, such incidents are very less," Mulayam expostulated when questioned by reporters. Taking a cue from Mulayam, younger brother Shivpal said in Kanpur: "UP is a big state with a huge population. Crimes that happen here become more noticeable."
"Law and order in the state has improved a lot under the SP regime. It has never been so good," UP minister Raj Kishore said in Basti. "Under the BSP regime, even FIRs were not registered to show a decline in crime. Under our government, each and every criminal case is being registered and prompt action is being taken."
However, such bragging could do little to console the wailing relatives at the victim's home in a village in Gauri Bazar area of Deoria district (east UP). The family members are angry that the police is still to trace the rapists who perpetrated demonic excesses on the woman on Wednesday night. The criminals, probably four to five, gang raped her and beat her up brutally, mangling her private parts with a blunt object or a stick.
"We want a CBI inquiry into the incident. We want those criminals to be hanged," said her uncle. The victim's father was beyond words and unable to utter a word. He broke down as he tried to narrate the sequence of events to a group of TV reporters.
Meanwhile, the state government has sanctioned Rs 10 lakh to be kept as a fixed deposit for the victim's orphaned daughter (13) and son (6). The government also plans to take care of their education and other expenses till class 10.
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