Page 16 - 15DEC2019E-5

CoverStory

village, two accused were seen purchasing petrol in a DMK’s P Wilson suggested castration to keep a
canister. The accused took the petrol to burn the body check on the repeat offenders. The court should be
of the victim. empowered to surgically and chemically castrate
Accused Jollu Shiva and Jollu Navin were seen in convicted rapists before they are released from jails
CCTV footage of different places riding the scooter of and the cost of such a procedure should be recovered
the victim from one petrol pump to another to buy the from the accused by selling his assets, he said. He also
petrol in a canister. added that a list of sexual offenders should also be
The first major breakthrough came when a made public.
mechanic around the toll booth told the police that Describing the incident as a disgrace to human-
a man had brought the scooter for the tyre puncture ity, Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu said, “What is
repair and gave police the description of the man. required is not a new bill. What is required is politi-
Investigation teams also got some vital clues from cal will, administrative skill, change of mindset and
nearby liquor shops from where the accused took the
liquor before the heinous crime.
From CCTVs installed near the toll plaza, the inves-
tigators found the lorry, which was parked near the According to the most
toll booth and with the help of the registration num-
ber of the lorry seen in the footage, police contacted recent national crime
its owner who led them to the main accused driver
Mohammad Arif, who then assisted police to arrest statistics, about 33,000
the other three accused.

PUNISHMENT SOUGHT rapes were reported
The incident led to massive protests at various places
in Telangana and across the nation with the public across the country in
demanding death penalty for the accused. Hundreds
of people had laid siege to a police station where all 2017, marking a decrease
the accused were held. Raising slogans ‘we want
justice’, and demanding that the accused be hanged from the prior two years
immediately without inquiry and trial.
The case was raised in both Houses of the Parlia-
ment, where many parliamentarians spoke their (about 100,000 rapes
heart out. Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Jaya Bachchan
called for the strictest punishment for the commit- were reported in the
ters of the heinous crime and suggested that the
accused must be brought out in public and lynched. “I United States in 2017)
think it is time... whether Nirbhaya or Kathua or what
happened in Telangana... I think the people now want
the government to give a proper and definite answer,”
Jaya Bachchan said in Parliament. She said that rapists then go for killing the social evil.” He also suggested a
should be “brought out in public and lynched.” rethink on the practice of allowing convicts in
“I don’t know how many times I have stood and heinous crimes to go in for mercy appeals.
spoken after this kind of crime. I think it is time… Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the guilty
whether Nirbhaya or Kathua or what happened in should be given stringent punishment without any
Telangana… I think the people now want the govern- discrimination of religion or caste, he said, adding
ment to give a proper and definite answer,” she said in that no government or leader would want that such
Rajya Sabha. She also added that the security person- incident occurs in their state. Sanjay Singh of the Aam
nel in charge of the area where the crime took place Adami Party (AAP) said stringent action in all cases
be held accountable and questions be asked. “I think of sexual assault on women should be taken after a
these people need to be shamed in front of the entire trial in fast track court and punishment given with-
country.” in a timeframe. Amar Patnaik of the BJD demanded
AIADMK MP Vijila Sathyananth said, “The coun- death for such heinous crimes. While T K Rangarajan
try is not safe for women and children. The people of CPM said laws be framed to tackle crime are not
who committed this crime should be hanged by percolating down, Vaiko of the DMK wanted concrete
December 31.” action be taken to deal with such crimes.

16