To protest the acquittal of suspects in the rape and murder of one of their schoolmates in 2006, 245 girls of Shiye village, 15 km from Kolhapur, have boycotted classes since Monday.
To protest the acquittal of suspects in the rape and murder of one of their schoolmates in 2006, 245 girls of Shiye village, 15 km from Kolhapur, have boycotted classes since Monday. The students of privately-run Shiye High School and Junior College have decided not to attend school until the victim gets justice.
The victim, Yogita Kadam (15) and a standard VIII student of the same school, was raped and murdered on a farm near her home on February 14, 2006. The police had arrested Rajendra Girve (50) of Sangargalli (Kolhapur) and Bajirao Lokhande (30) of Shiye village. Girve is the owner of the farm from where her corpse was found.
On September 14, the district, principal and sessions judge, PD Desai, acquitted the suspects for lack of evidence. Around 10,000 people of Shiye village is upset with the judgment. A spontaneous call for bandh on September 15 was successful.
“There is no justice for the poor in this country. Even though the authorities have launched the ‘save the girl’ mission, suspects in rape cases are roaming freely. Such judgments only serve to encourage criminals,” Prajakta Bhosale, a standard IX student who is leading the protests, said. “It is a heinous crime. We lost our daughter and there is no justice. We will fight till death to bring the culprits to book,” the victim’s father, Dhondiram and mother Chhaya said.
The victim’s younger sister Deepa (15), who is in standard IX in the same school, has also joined the protests. “The criminals got off scot-free and we do not feel safe now,” she said.
Girls from class V-X have sent their memoranda to the school headmaster, Shivaji Patil. “We have communicated the girls’ boycott to the district education officer. Yogita was from our school. There is anxiety and feeling of insecurity among girls in the school and also in the village,” Patil said.
“There is a strong feeling that justice is not done. The state should approach the high court against the judgment of the lower court. We have also demanded a reinvestigation by agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation or Crime Investigation Department,” sarpanch Chhaya Fadtare said.
On Thursday, many schools in Karveer taluka observed a bandh, while the villagers submitted their demands to the collectorate.
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