Bangalore rape outrage: The strange silence of the Congress government

by Aravind S Kamal Bangalore: The rape of a six-year-old school girl in a reputed school has left the residents of Bangalore in a state of shock and outrage, but the intriguing silence of the state government in the matter has only astounded them more. After the anger over the incident spilled over to the streets and took a political overtone, the government fired the Bangalore City Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar. However, it is yet to make any move against the school management, which the parents feel should be held accountable for the incident. The ‘law will take its course’ line being parroted by its ministers has irked them further. Under normal circumstances, the state government either initiates action against the school management with immediate effect or directs the school management to initiate disciplinary action against the employees concerned. Though it has been more than a week, neither the state government nor the school management has shown any appreciable action while thousands of people are pouring on to the streets to condemn the incident. The school management seems to have washed its hands of the incident after the police arrested one of the accused. The only visible step taken by the state government has been its recommendation to the ICSE Board to de-recognize the school in the wake of the incident that almost went unnoticed till the parents of the victim fought to bring it to light. However, experts believe that the recommendation is merely academic and unlikely to take effect in light of the future of hundreds of other students studying in the school. Besides, the school comes under the purview of the ICSE Board and the state government has to invoke a different law in case action has to be initiated against it. [caption id=“attachment_1628633” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image. AFP Photo[/caption] The school management has remained off-limits for the parents. They addressed the aggrieved parents under police protection only when they picketed it seeking action last week. Since then, not much has been heard from the school management on the issue while the police claim that they are cooperating in the investigation. It is no more a secret that the police soft-pedalled the case till the issue went out of hands. Raghavendra Auradkar seems to have paid the price for the slow response of his subordinates in this particular case. One section in the state government believes that the ‘soft stand’ towards the school could be because it is a ‘minority’ institution. However, nobody wants to speak about it in the open simply because it could open a Pandora’s box, particularly when the BJP has stalled the legislature’s proceedings over the same issue. Usually, the government is known to take a harsh stand against institutions not initiating action against the errant staff involved in serious crimes. But right from the chief minister to the home minister, the language has been the same – “law will take its own course” even though they had questioned the credentials of the Opposition when it was in power. The response of the Women & Child Welfare Minister Umashree was even more shocking when she declared that the matter did not come under her purview because schools were in the jurisdiction of the Education department. All that she did was write a letter to the Home department and Education department seeking to improve the security in schools. Several TV cameras even caught the minister (film actress-turned-politician) reading a novel in the Assembly when the discussion on increasing crimes in Bangalore was on! Nevertheless, after the accused (Mustafa alias Munna) was apprehended by the police, who were booed by the parents on Sunday for the lackadaisical attitude, it has now emerged that he (skating instructor) was a serial sexual offender. It also reflects on the school management, which selected him for the job without verifying his background. Neither the police nor the state government has spelled out its action against the school for employing a person with such a dubious background of being an alleged paedophile. Whether the police arrested the accused under duress to protect the image or whether the case will really see the light of the day is something that needs to be watched. Meanwhile, the school continues to function as usual with a section of the parents’ community opposing its closure in view of the future of their wards. There are several complaints against the school and that need to be probed. For instance, it is said that the school management leases out the facilities (swimming pool and playground) to external organizations. This could lead to another security issue on the premises of the school. The next few days will be interesting from the perspective whether the government can send out a clear message to schools neglecting sex-related crimes committed by staff on minors.