Indian politicians facing rape charges
According to current Indian law, no politician can hold office if he is found guilty of a criminal offence. However, if he has been charged with a criminal offense and the case is ongoing, he can continue to participate in politics and even become a member of Parliament or Legislative Assembly. Combine this with the fact that it takes decades for even the smallest of cases to go through the process of the judiciary, and you can understand why there are so many criminals active in Indian politics.
In a recent report compiled by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), 1,448 of India’s total 4,835 MPs and MLAs have criminal cases against them. 641 faces serious charges like rape, murder or kidnapping. The Uttar Pradesh government is the most criminal, with 29 out of 58 ministers having criminal records.
A sad part is the number of MLAs facing rape charges. Since the horrific gang rape case in Delhi, the Indian public has been outraged by the way we treat women. It is shameful for these politicians to remain in power at such a time. Many of these politicians claim that they have been targeted as part of politics and deny these allegations, but even so, until their names are cleared, the right thing to do is to resign. And looking at all the other charges against some of these politicians it is hard to believe that they are not criminals and only victims of dirty politics.
Rape is the fourth most common crime in India. The level of rape cases in the country is increasing at an alarming rate. It is learned that most of the rape cases were committed by an acquaintance of the victim. Women’s safety in the streets, at home and in offices has been a troubling issue for years. It is unfortunate that the government is rarely making any effort to solve it. In fact the leaders of our country follow the mechanism of blaming the victim for rape instead of questioning the case and the culprit.
Responding to the anti-rape laws, a politician said, “Boys will be boys. They make mistakes. Will you hang them for this?” At the same time, he also said that it is only women who start friendship with men and then when there is a dispute, it is called rape.
The NCRB report reveals how in India a woman is raped every 16 minutes, while dowry deaths happen every hour. The 2019 report also said that almost every two days a woman becomes the victim of an acid attack, while in India a woman is gang-raped and murdered every 30 hours. Every two hours a woman faces a rape attempt. Every six minutes a case of assault with intent to outrage the modesty of a woman is registered. What is even more shocking is that every four hours a woman becomes a victim of trafficking, according to the NCRB data.
Repeated rape cases have angered many Indians. Some are now demanding death penalty for the rapists. And the authorities have also been demanded to hang the culprits publicly. Experts say that this also reflects an increase in violent tendencies in the country.
Experts point out that violence against girls and women usually occurs in their vicinity. According to 2017 National Crime Records Bureau data, 93% of all rapes in India are committed by people known to the victim. These can be family members, friends, neighbors, employers and even online friends. No family in the Indian society is ready to accept that someone in their family has been raped and they often advise the victims to stay away from the untoward incident after the rape in the police station. This is the only reason why most rapes are not even registered in India.
Rape is a crime not only against the victim as an individual but against the society as a whole. This crime is so shameful that it is also a crime against basic human rights. No single definition can define the term rape because of its broad nature. Only the one who suffers it knows. Therefore rape can be called a sexual offense.
Some cases that have come before the public, in which many Indian politicians have been accused of rape:-
Jai Narain: Jai Narain from Bansi, Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh, has other cases of rape and kidnapping and wrongful concealment and imprisoning going on against him.
Anoop Sanda, Samajwadi Party: In the year 2010, on the condition of anonymity, a woman accused former MLA Anoop Sanda of raping her several times on the pretext of marriage.
Rohit Tilak, National Youth Congress: A woman has allegedly filed an FIR against politician Rohit Tilak, alleging that he raped her multiple times. According to the FIR, Tilak had promised to marry her. She also said that the leader forced her to perform unnatural sex acts against her will.
Manoj Kumar Parsi: Manoj Kumar Paras is a leader of Uttar Pradesh. He is also accused of being involved in gang rape.
Bikram Singh Brahma, Indian National Congress: Assam Congress leader Bikram Singh Brahma who was accused of rape. He had to face the allegation of raping a married woman in the year 2013. According to a report, Brahma allegedly entered the woman’s house and then raped her. Hearing the cries of the woman, the neighbors and the villagers ran to the house and caught Brahma. The villagers beat up the politician.
Mo. Aleem Khan: Mohd. Aleem Khan belongs to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh and is facing a rape case against him in the court. He even has cases of robbery and attempt to murder as well as long-term wrongful confinement. Intimidation, rioting etc. are minor offenses against him.
Jethabai Mr. Ahiro: BJP MLA from Gujarat Jethabai G. Ahir is also facing charges related to rape. Other cases include kidnapping, extortion, impersonation, forgery, etc.
Hemant Katare: In 2018, Katare, a former Congress MLA from MP, was booked by the Bhopal Police for ‘rape and imprisonment’ of a woman besides extortion.
Kandikunta Ventaka Prasad: Kandikunta Ventaka Prasad belongs to Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party. He is charged with one charge of rape, one charge of murder, one charge of attempt to murder, one charge of voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means.
Anisur Rehman, West Bengal BJP leader: Anisur Rehman was detained by the police on charges of rape. According to reports, a woman lodged a complaint with the nearby police station and said that he allegedly raped her for ninety days and was also threatening not to disclose the matter.
Shri Bhagwan Sharma: Shri Bhagwan Sharma alias Guddu Pandit was an MLA from BSP in Uttar Pradesh. He was accused of raping Agra University research scholar Sheetal Birla.
Ravindra Bawanthade: Former Maharashtra BJP leader Ravindra Bawanthade was arrested on charges of rape in July last year. He was detained by the police after a CCTV video of him forcibly kissing a teenage girl inside the bus spread like wildfire on all social media platforms. The girl lodged a complaint after the video went viral on the internet. She also said that this was the second time that Ravindra Bawantade had allegedly raped her inside a vehicle. Further, she said that the politician had given her the promise of giving her a job. She also said that Bawantade had also promised to marry her.
Shantilal Solanki, Govind Parumalani, Ajit Ramwani and Vasant Bhanushali, BJP: The woman had lodged an FIR in 2017 alleging gang rape against ten people, including four BJP leaders. The criminals allegedly forced her into indiscriminate sexual activities and then they blackmailed her after filming the rape incident. After the incident, Gujarat BJP has suspended all its four accused leaders with immediate effect.
Kuldeep Singh Sengar: On 2019, former BJP Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Kuldeep Singh Sengar from UP was declared guilty of rape. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in the same year. Also, was found guilty of the death of the girl’s father in judicial custody. The first charge, filed by the CBI in 2018, accused former BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar of rape. The second charge was filed two days later accusing Sengar, his brother, three policemen and five others of implicating the rape victim’s father as the culprit.
M Vincent, Congress MLA Kovalam (Kerala): M Vincent was detained in the year 2017 due to the rape allegation that was registered against him. A married woman had recorded her statement before the magistrate and the police. He had accused them of rape and sexual assault.
