Are we going back to 17th century, asks anguished HC on case of woman paraded naked
Bengaluru (PTI): Expressing anguish, the High Court of Karnataka has termed the incident of a woman being paraded naked in a village in Belagavi district as an "extraordinary case" and said "it will have extraordinary treatment at our hands".
The woman was allegedly assaulted, paraded naked and tied to an electric pole after her son eloped with a girl who was to get engaged with someone else, in the early hours of December 11.
A division bench also summoned the Police Commissioner of Belagavi along with the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to be personally present in the court on December 18 to file an additional report.
The Advocate General on Thursday placed a memo and some documents about the action taken on the incident before the division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit.
The Court however said the report was falling short. The "least we can say is that we are not satisfied with the way things took place post the incident. AG seeks some time to submit additional reports. Accordingly, learned AG is permitted to place on record an additional status report on Monday," the bench ordered.
ALSO READ: Belagavi: Woman paraded naked, tied to electric pole after son elopes with girl
When the AG submitted that the ACP was investigating the matter, the HC directed the Commissioner and the ACP to be present and file the additional report. The HC has also directed that the assailants should be arrested immediately.
Taking serious exception to the incident, the HC observed: "This is a shame to all of us. We cannot expect this situation after 75 years of freedom. It is a question for us, are we going into the 21st century or going back to the 17th century?
"Are we going to see equality or progressiveness or are we going back to the 17th and 18th centuries. Our anguish makes us use such harsh words. We are exceeding but we can't help. We feel the least we can do is express our anguish in some harsh words," the bench said.
The HC further observed that "This (incident) will be affecting the future generation. Are we creating a society where there is a chance to dream for a better future or we are creating a society where somebody will feel it is better to die than to live? Where there is no respect for a lady."
During the arguments, the HC noted that the accused were also from the SC/ST Community and therefore the case does not attract provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
On December 12, the HC had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident based on news reports.
During the hearing on Thursday, the HC said a dangerous precedent is being set that there is no fear of law. "A dangerous signal is being sent that there is no fear of law. If this happens in Karnataka which is a progressive state, this is unfortunate after independence. No fear of the law is very very disturbing," the Court said.
The Court said it was speechless that the Women's Commission was not in the picture yet.
"With a very heavy heart we have to say that the Commission for Women acts on what somebody says in a TV debate but when this is done where is the commission? Have they taken cognisance? Any women's rights or human rights commission have done anything? No personal visit to the spot or family. We are speechless what can we say."
The Court said it was an extraordinary case and it will get "extraordinary treatment at our hands." Since the accused is absconding, the HC said, "Tell your inspector not to have lunch and dinner till he is arrested."
The HC also directed the AG to check if there is any compensation scheme available for the victim-woman. "Come up with some monetary scheme for this lady and her family," it said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Several Indians inducted into Russian Army remain missing: Report
New Delhi: In a concerning development, several Indians who were illegally enlisted in the Russian Army and forcibly sent to the war zone on the Russia-Ukraine border are reportedly still missing.
According to a report published by The Hindu on Sunday, citing communication from the Ministry of External Affairs and statements from the families of two missing men, Mohammad Amin Sheikh, a 65-year-old resident of Kupwara in Tangdhar, Jammu and Kashmir, said that his 27-year-old son, Zahoor Sheikh, last contacted the family on December 31, 2023.
Amin Sheikh mentioned that his son said that he was going for training and would not be available for the next three months on phone. “But when we started getting news about the deaths of Indians in Russia in January, we got worried and called on his number. We could not reach him. We are yet to hear from him,” Sheikh, a retired Inspector from the Public Health Department in Jammu and Kashmir, was quoted as saying by the publication.
Last week, Mohammad Amin Sheikh and his two other sons travelled to New Delhi to seek answers from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Russian Embassy after the Indian Embassy in Moscow failed to give them information about Zahoor Sheikh.
“We submitted a petition at the Russian Embassy,” 31-year-old Aijaz Amin, Zahoor Sheikh’s elder brother, told The Hindu. “They said they are looking into the matter. The MEA officials said that at least 15 Indians are still missing and though the Russian government is cooperative, their commanders on the ground are not responsive,” he added.
Zahoor had travelled to Russia after he came across a YouTube video promising the job of a security helper in Russia. Instead, he was reportedly deceived into joining the Russian Army.
Similarly, 30-year-old Mandeep, from Jalandhar in Punjab, has been missing since March. His brother, Jagdeep Kumar, also arrived in Delhi, looking for answers from the government about his sibling's whereabouts.
“We last spoke on March 3. He initially went to Armenia and was supposed to go to Italy from there in search of work. Instead, he was tricked by an agent to go to Russia and was forced to join the Russian Army. He was sent to the war zone after a few days of training,” Kumar told The Hindu.
Kumar said he met officials from the External Affairs Ministry in the capital city, who told him that at least 25 Indians were reported missing in Russia.
