Law's labour lost

Updated on: 30 July,2009 08:37 AM IST |
Daipayan Halder |

When Bhanwari Devi was gangraped in 1992 in a forgettable Rajasthan village, her only hope for justice was the court of law

Law's labour lost

When Bhanwari Devi was gangraped in 1992 in a forgettable Rajasthan village, her only hope for justice was the court of law. She couldn't expect help from her village panchayat as it was on the instruction of the village elders that she was raped as punishment for speaking out against child marriages. But what Bhanwari, a Dalit, had not discounted for was the biases of men of law.

The district sessions judge pronounced in November 1995 that an upper-caste man could not have raped a Dalit. So Bhanwari must be lying and the rapists were let off.

It is common knowledge that police stations across the country often display biases against women, Dalits and Muslims among other subaltern groups. But what about the hallowed CBI? In its charge sheet filed in a Kochi court in the 1992 murder case of the Catholic nun, Sister Abhaya, the premier investigation agency said Abhaya had discovered Sister Sephy, an accused, in "suspicious circumstances" along with two Catholic priests, who are the other accused.

The CBI also asked for examination of her breasts to claim that she was a "woman of loose morals." And, in a bizarre conclusion, said her "pendulous" breasts were "suggestive of vigorous fondling during sexual intercourse."

And that's how they're busting it!

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels