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Kunduli Victim Suicide: Did The Society Fail The Minor Girl?





Kunduli Victim Suicide: Did The Society Fail The Minor Girl?

The 15-year-old tribal girl of Koraput, who allegedly was gangraped by men in uniform, ended her life on Monday. As opposition political parties called for Odisha Bandh, ruling party defended itself and the state police cut a sorry picture, spare a thought for the minor victim.

The burden of rape, stigma of sexual assault in a tribal society, an administration in denial amidst a political system that was more keen to derive brownie points from the situation – Could a 15-year old girl cope up with such a psychological challenge? Where was the state’s support system when she was going through the stigma of being labelled a ‘liar’? Why was she left to fend for herself when she needed to be protected? Where were the political parties when she was taken out of medical supervision which could have helped her tackle such a challenge? The entire episode has exposed how the society as a whole failed the girl when she needed it the most. MCL takes a different view on the tragic issue.

As social activist Namrata Chaddha puts it, “The girl hasn’t committed suicide. This is murder. I know now that after her death, the government will announce huge amount of compensation for her family but when she was going through the trauma, no action was taken to give her justice. This incident not only reflects the report card of the state government, it also depicts the position ofwomen in the state.”She further adds, “When I had met her personally on December 29th, she had told me about her problems. She had said how she was facing social stigma in her community and how she was being criticised by the government officials. During that time itself, I had made an appeal that she should be brought out from that place, that atmosphere but no such action was taken. On the other hand, even though teams from Women and Child Commissions had gone all the way to Koraput on government expenses, not a single report or direction was submitted to the government to handle the situation with sensitivity.”

She continues, “I had also requested the government to give the matter to a retired justice of High Court for a fair decision and also bring the girl out from Koraput and help her get settled in an institution where she could get proper counselling so that she could recuperate mentally, but my requests fell on deaf ears. Eventually, the girl committed suicide.”

However social activist, Subhashree Das feels that due to the confusion that was created during the case, the issue went out of hand. “No doubt, this is a tragic issue for the state and it could have been dealt in a better way. But there was so much confusion related to the case that the investigation went in wrong direction. To begin with, the victim had claimed that she could identify the suspects but when she was taken for identification, she got confused among police, SOG Jawans, CRF and Cobra Force. Then, post the medical check-up, the report claimed that the girl was not raped. In the process, the public lost their confidence in the system. Ideally, there should have been an independent commission for investigation of the matter.”

She further points out that though people blamed the police and doctors, none took the case to the High Court for justice. It is not right to blame the system entirely though it is true that the matter was dealt with insensitively. That’s the reason the girl must have been under depression for which she committed suicide.”

However, notwithstanding the fact that none came forward to counsel or help the girl, the political parties are still playing the blame game. Lekhashree Samantsinghar, the state general secretary of BJP says, ‘It’s not that we have not tried to help the girl but every time, we did that, we were misbehaved with. At each and every stage, the government has tried to hide the matter and since the Chief Minister himself is in charge of the Home Department, this matter was suppressed. She was also offered money to change her statement. She refused to do so and at the end, she had no choice but to commit suicide. This is not only the death of a minor rape victim, it is the death of hope and confidence of lakhs of women across the state. This issue has exposed the clear picture in the state and people can see how the ruling party is respecting women in the state.”Similarly, PCC President Prasad Harichandan says, “This girl was forced to take such a drastic step. She kept crying for justice for four months but none from the system was able to give her that. Rather, she was proved a ‘liar’ in front of the public. She had to take the extreme step because she was going through a trauma. We demand the resignation of the Chief Minister for this and also strong action against all those who tried to suppress the matter, be it the doctor concerned, the police officers or the Additional DG.”

On the other hand, defending his party, Bijaya Nayak from BJD tells MCL, “What has happened is very tragic. But in such a delicate situation, the Congress and BJP should not do politics over the matter. Both the parties are confidently using this issue for their political mileage. The state government is on the job, the matter is already under investigation both under Crime Branch and judicial system. So, we need to wait for the final report and action will surely be taken against the culprits after that.”

Author: Sheela Pattanayak

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