New Delhi, Jan 24 – Amnesty International India called on the authorities to take stern action to end discrimination and violence against women in the wake of a 20-year old tribal girl alleged gang-raped in Birbhum, West Bengal.
The girl, who is reported to be in a critical condition, was allegedly raped by members of a kangaroo court in Birbhum on Monday night as punishment for having an affair with a youth from another community.
The West Bengal police must thoroughly investigate the alleged gangrape and bring to justice those responsible, its Senior Researcher, Divya Iyer said in a statement here.
“The adivasi (tribal) woman was allegedly gangraped by 13 men on the orders of a ‘khap panchayat,’ which is an unelected all-male village council as punishment for falling in love with a man of another community.”
“Authorities must ensure that women’s rights to choose their partners are respected and protected, and take steps to end discrimination and violence against women,” she said.
They must also ensure that the woman and her family receive immediate and adequate police protection.
The police have arrested 13 people including head of the Panchayat.
Any person found guilty of inciting violence against the woman must be held accountable, she said.
Khap panchayats notoriously issue extra-legal decrees ordering inhuman and sexually violent punishments against women, including ‘honour’ killings.
The Justice Verma Committee has pointed out that the orders of khap panchayats are illegal, and urged the government to crack down on them, she added.
The three-member committee headed by Justice J S Verma, former Chief Justice of Supreme Court was was constituted to recommend amendments to the Criminal Law so as to provide for quicker trial and enhanced punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault against women.
This came after the brutal gang-rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern on Dec 16, 2012 in New Delhi, which shook the nation and world.
A total of 244,270 crimes including rape and assault on women transcending different age groups were reported in 2012, an increase of 6.8 per cent from 228,650 in 2011.
According to data from the National Crime Record Bureau, West Bengal topped states in crimes against women in 2011 and 2012.
– Bernama
