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Tricky Charge
Is Section
376 which deals with rape in danger of becoming a potent weapon to settle
personal scores with public figures, asks India Today's Neeraj Mishra
who looks at some cases in Madhya Pradesh
The complex
set of mores in Indian society work in a distinct
fashion. "We accommodate financial irregularity of millions of
rupees but one unfounded allegation of rape or extramarital
liaison can ruin a lifetime of good work," says Yashovardhan Azad,
senior IPS officer attached to the PMO. His colleagues in Madhya Pradesh
and Chhattisgarh are feeling the heat of allegations of rape from women
in controversial circumstances.
Lily Kujur, who works as a supervisor in the Child and Women
Welfare Department in the Jashpur Collectorate in Chhattisgarh,
claims that Collector M.R. Sarathi had been sexually exploiting
her for months. She and her consort Norbert Khalko have alleged
that Sarathi, 58, had invited her home along with another
supervisor, Sushma Sahi, some eight months ago. He is also alleged to
have raped her in his office after threatening to transfer her if she
refused to yield. Says SP Pradeep Gupta: "She has not lodged a formal
complaint with the police. So far the allegations have only appeared in
the local press."
The charges surfaced after Sarathi suspended Kujur for not
attending her duty and not living in her town of posting. Kujur's
allegation cites Sahi as a witness, something she denies. "Kujur
is being guided by Khalko, who claims to be a Congress leader and has
come to me several times for help which I have refused," says Sarathi.
Meanwhile, Kujur and Khalko have vanished and are not contactable while
a shaken Sarathi has offered to resign. In another incident, a dhaba-owner,
Gayatri Sharma, had alleged
custodial rape against former Shivpuri collector S.M. Pathak.
Sharma had been arrested for assaulting some truck drivers
along with her brothers and a senior police officer and was serving a
three-month sentence. The matter was dismissed by the district court as
a fabrication but is pending in appeal in the high court bench at Gwalior.
It is more than a coincidence that Kujur has married thrice while
Sharma is estranged from her husband. Both made their allegations after
the district officials had acted against them. But nowhere does Section
376 dealing with rape specify that a victim's suspicious background would
stand in the way of any charge of rape against anyone. So, much like the
Harijan Act which has often been used to settle scores, it is feared that
Section 376 may become a potent weapon to settle personal scores.
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