Why did victim go to isolated spot? asks Karnataka HM on Mysuru gang-rape

Political leaders continue to be shockingly insensitive to young rape victims going by recent comments made by the Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on the recent gang-rape of a Mysuru college girl at Chamundi Hills.

Media reports highlighted the remark made by the state home minister blithely equating the political pressure he was facing by the Congress to a horrific crime such as rape.

“The rape has happened. These Congress people are trying to rape me. They are trying to rape the Home Minister,” said Jnanendra.

What’s worse is that without batting an eyelid, the home minister added that a young girl like her, the rape survivor shouldn’t have gone to an isolated place in the first place.

“Firstly, she should not have gone there. Then again we can’t stop people saying you can’t go somewhere. It is such an isolated place,” he said, News18 reported. This is not the first time, senior politicians have tried to shift the blame on the rape survivor and shame her by making her partly responsible for the crime.

Also read: College girl gang-raped, boyfriend thrashed in Mysuru

Last month, after two 14-year-olds were raped on a beach in Goa, the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who also held the home portfolio, had blamed the parents and the girls for staying out on the beach the whole night.

“…the parents need to introspect. Just because children don’t listen, we cannot put the responsibility on the government and police”, said Sawant, a comment for which he was heavily criticised and drew a lot of flak.

On Tuesday (August 24), a college girl was allegedly gang-raped by five men, who were drunk, near Chamundi Hill in Mysuru. Her male friend who was with her was also thrashed. Both are undergoing treatment in a private hospital. The alleged rapists are still to be arrested.

The Karnataka home minister however added the government and the police department have taken the gang-rape incident in Mysuru “seriously”. They were making efforts to nab the culprits.

The minister is expected to visit Mysuru on Thursday to take stock of the developments in the case. However, Jnanendra said that since the victim was in shock, they were unable to record her statements. But, the police had registered an FIR and all efforts were on to trace the culprits, he added.

Also read: Goa rape case: CM Sawant slammed for asking why minors were out at night

No arrests had been made so far, he told a reporter, added the News18 report.

The minister however did add that the incident was an “unfortunate” and made them bow their heads in shame. Replying to a question on complaints about lack of police patrolling, he said he would look into the matter while holding a series of meetings with officials in Mysuru.

But the minister, who was worried about the Congress party’s criticism over the issue, said that it is unfortunate that the Congress party was trying to “play politics” over a rape incident. The Congress was trying to get political mileage out of an inhuman deed, pointed out Jnanendra.

“This is not an incident to politicise. We have to together see that such incidents don’t repeat. Was everything great during Congress rule?” he asked journalists.