Increasing Sexual Crimes and Institutional Apathy Affect Women in Jharkhand
On April 13 of this year, a Dalit girl from Jharkhand, age 14, went outside at 9:30 pm to answer nature’s call. She was grabbed by a young person violently, taken to a field, and assaulted there. The little girl had been being molested and raped for the previous six months, according to the father of the minor girl’s accusation. The officer-in-charge at the Chandwa police station declined to provide any information when Outlook called to inquire about the status of the case because he was unsure about the caller.
The very next day after the event, a 10-year-old Dalit girl was gang-raped and killed in a hamlet within the jurisdiction of Chandwa Police Station. Her family members filed a complaint with the police department on April 15. Officer in charge of Chandwa, Bablu Kumar, commented on this matter by saying, “In case number 92/23, we apprehended five persons within a week of the occurrence. They have admitted to the offense. They placed the corpse behind her home to conceal their crime. A chargesheet was submitted in this matter on June 30. The case is in court.
However, the police revealed information about the event that happened on April 14 but withheld information about the incident that happened on April 13 instead. Why? The Dalit girl’s uncle spoke on the subject, saying, “We had to start an agitation for the police to take necessary action. The SP at Latehar had to be gherao by the locals. Five persons were then detained after this. I had even received threats from the police for participating in the protests. However, it is within our constitutional rights to continue fighting for our rights. We’ll keep doing it.
A second little girl was raped on July 14 in a community within the jurisdiction of Chandwa police station. The girl’s father had reported the incident in a FIR. Numerous parts of the POCSO Act have been utilized in case number 149/23. However, no arrests were made prior to July 15th. The policeman on the other end of the phone was unable to provide any more information in this respect. Three similar incidences involving young girls were reported to one police station in the Latehar area of Jharkhand during a three-month period, but no charges were ever filed. It is clear that these events did not get much attention.
The 12 police stations of Latehar. The occurrence on July 14 was a brand-new instance of rape and molestation, according to media accounts. Prior to this, two underage Dalit girls were abducted and raped for a week in June in the Latehar neighborhood of Barvadih police station. Given the gravity of the situation and the complaint made by the parents of the young girls, the district SP established a SIT. The investigations focused on the abduction and rape of these victims, and it was claimed that the police assisted in their July 9 release while also detaining four suspects.
Let’s now leave the countryside and go towards the metropolis, where the police force is purportedly more watchful and attentive. Within a 48-hour period this month, two young students were gang-raped in Ranchi’s main city. On July 14, while a young student was leaving a birthday celebration, her companions began to sexually assault her. She was transported to a remote location and gang-raped when she resisted. A young girl was gang-raped on July 16 while she was walking home from a late-night party by her pals.
The number of crimes against women has grown over the last three years in both the Latehar and Ranchi districts. 186 such incidents were reported in Latehar between 2020 and 2022, according to statistics from the Jharkhand Police. Prior to this, 138 instances between 2017 and 2019 were reported. Ranchi has a substantially higher rise in these incidences than Latehar. In Ranchi, there were 627 rape assaults between 2020 and 2022. There were 528 throughout the period from 2017 to 2019.
Data on the Jharkhand Police website only extends to February 2023. If we include the rape episodes from the previous two months, 198 rape crimes in Latehar and 660 in Ranchi have been reported in the previous 38 months. This implies that there is a rape event around every 5.8 days in Latehar and every 1.75 days in Ranchi. According to media sources, there have been six rape instances in Latehar since February and more than a dozen similar occurrences in Ranchi.
The Jharkhand chief minister referred to the alleged rape of two Manipuri tribal women as a “black chapter” in the nation’s history. The Jharkhand BJP spokesman, Pratul Shahdeo, responds to the chief minister’s comments by saying, “Such rape cases involving indigenous women are happening every day in Jharkhand, too. On this, the CM should also make a statement. The state’s history under his administration is similarly marred by these occurrences. These must also be tallied since, of the rapes that have taken place in the last three and a half years, the majority have involved Dalit tribal girls. CM often asserts that the tribals are the priority of his administration. However, neither the Jharkhand Women’s Commission nor the Scheduled Tribes Commission have been reorganized as of yet. He should be focusing on his own state instead of complaining about other states.
About a dozen commissions and bodies in Jharkhand have not been reorganized. The Jharkhand Women Commission has been inactive since June 6, 2020. The Women Commission’s position has a three-year term limit. This indicates that the commission’s three-year term has passed without a reorganization. In the tribally predominate state of Jharkhand, 14 of the state’s 24 districts fall under the 5th Schedule of the Constitution. The Scheduled Tribes Commission, however, has not yet been established since the state’s creation.
Former Jharkhand Tribal Advisory Council (TAC) member Ratan Tirky believes that these tragedies are the result of the administrative apparatus failing. The governor, who is in charge of the states included in the fifth schedule, should also be held responsible, according to him, in addition to the local government. The governor need to call a meeting with the DGP and the executive branch to find out why these incidences are happening to indigenous women.
He continues, “Animals are far more important than women of the state for both the Congress and the Jharkhand Mutki Morcha (JMM)—the JMM and the Congress party have been in alliance for the last three and a half years. They haven’t taken into account the Scheduled Tribes Commission’s and Women Commission’s constitutions because of this. They do prioritize restructuring the Jharkhand Cow Service Commission, however. This is regrettable. Only 1% of the population of the neighboring state of Bihar is tribal, yet they have a Scheduled Tribes Commission. Despite the Scheduled Tribes Commission for Jharkhand. They did prioritize the reorganization of the Jharkhand Cow Service Commission, however. This is regrettable.
Recent instances of rape against tribal women in Santhal Pargana have angered and emboldened Louis Marani, a former cabinet minister for social welfare, women’s issues, and child development, who has attacked CM Hemant Soren. Louis Marandi was a lawmaker from the JMM-dominant Dumka, whereas CM Soren from Santhal Pargana’s Barhait district.
When discussing the problem of rape with Outlook, Louis Marani said, “The instances of crimes and rapes against women are going place across the state. But in Santhal Province, these crimes against indigenous women have increased. Laws are not being adhered to strictly. The management is very useless. The administration doesn’t seem to be taking women’s problems seriously. The Women’s Commission would have been established long ago if it had been apparent. I have experience working with the Women Commission. I am aware of this commission’s significance. Women’s cases are often presented here. Many women benefit greatly from the commission.
A study claims that during its first two years of inactivity, the commission received 4,174 letters of complaint from women, the hearing on which is still waiting. Joba Majhi, the minister for women’s and children’s development and social security in Jharkhand, was questioned by Outlook about the Women’s Commission’s formation delay and concerns about women’s safety. She quickly said, “It has not been done, it will be done.” After then, the call was terminated. The phone was answered and terminated when this reporter sought to reach the minister once again.
Louis Marandi named the Santhal Pargana area as the location of these incidents in the last three years. In Dumka, there were 162 instances reported between 2017 and 2019 and 99 cases between 2020 and 2022. Between 2017 and 2019, there were 314 instances in Sahibgunj. However, 240 instances were reported between 2020 and 2022. According to information provided by the Jharkhand police, there were 5,255 incidents of rape in the state between January 2020 and February 2023, a period of 38 months.
Gladosn Dungdung, a human rights activist, claims that after the Manipur event, the government and opposition parties are blaming one another rather than cooperating to curb crimes against women. I think neither the administration nor the opposition party take women’s problems seriously. After the Manipur event, people are seeking to talk about the incidents that happened in Bengal and Rajasthan. It also includes Soren. While discussing the Manipur event, he is unable to put an end to atrocities against women in his own state. Right now, winning elections is his primary goal.
