Danish Ali talks to Sourav Roy Barman after he flagged a ‘rise’ in rape cases nationwide, saying it’s an urgent issue.
You raised in Lok Sabha the issue of “rise” in rape cases in the country.
The number of rape cases is on the rise. We’ve seen it in Unnao, Hathras… and Ankita Bhandari’s murder in Uttarakhand. Each of these cases involves people with direct or indirect political ties. Also, no one has been punished for Kathua or Shahjahanpur.
It sounds like remission was granted to the convicts in Bilkis Bano.
This shows that even if the punishment is given, remission is exercised to free the prisoners. When a rape convict gets life in prison, it should be life in prison. We shouldn’t remit charges for heinous crimes like rape. There needs to be a review of the remission provision.
Although there was widespread outrage over the remission in Bilkis, the government didn’t change its stance.
The case polarized Gujarat polls. How did they release and welcome the accused? What kind of message did that send?
After the 2012 Delhi gangrape case, there were fierce protests. No reactions of that magnitude in recent times.
Because people who protest now face charges under UAPA. We saw how brutally protesters were repressed against the CAA.
Victims’ relatives or friends are most often the rapists. Do you feel it is a societal issue?
Certainly. The mindset of people needs to change. Even politics shouldn’t matter when it comes to such crimes.
