UP Police cannot be trusted on Meerut case
There are at least three good reasons why the Central Bureau of Investigation should take over the case of alleged rape and forced religious conversion in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district. First, it is not an isolated incident of crime. The allegations of repeated gang rape, religious conversion and removal of the victim's fallopian tubes against her will, taken together, make for an extraordinary case. Also, apart from prosecuting the perpetrators directly linked to this crime, it is important to investigate, for instance, claims made by the victim that other women were being forcibly held in the madarssa where she had been taken. Allegedly, the women were being converted to Islam, so that they could be married off to ‘sheikhs', and moved to Dubai — this sounds like a human trafficking racket involving not just the local mullah but also pliant customs and security officials and ‘agents' abroad. Similarly, the hospital staff and management that permitted and conducted the surgery must also be investigated. They obviously operated on her without her express consent. Here, one needs to ask: On whose ordersIJ From a larger social point of view, the Meerut case is only the latest is a series of rapes and gang rapes that have made headlines ever since the December 16 case shocked the national conscience in 2012, and once again, highlights the deplorable safety of women in India. Equally importantly, in a secular country like this, where the unfortunate force-feeding of a fasting Muslim is primetime news material, the forcible conversion of a Hindu woman to Islam is an abomination.The Meerut case has taken on larger proportions and can have social and political ramifications across the country. It is only appropriate that it be handled by a pan-India agency.
This brings us to the second reason why the CBI must take over the case: Because Uttar Pradesh police, the current investigating authority, is simply not up to the task. Not only is it inefficient and incompetent, it is deeply politicised and, therefore, unfit to handle a case such as this. Thanks to decades of competitive communal politics that have only become more pronounced under the Samajwadi Party's rule, Uttar Pradesh today is a tinder box. This year alone, the State has seen some 247 instances of communal tensions; last year, the Muzaffarnagar riots, which claimed at least 62 lives and displaced hundreds, were the most deadly in recent times. Something as innocuous as the distribution of sweets after a religious ceremony, can spark violence, as the recent clashes in Saharanpur, which killed three persons, are proof. In this situation, the last thing one needs is the notorious Uttar Pradesh police force bungling this already sensitive case. It’s no wonder then that the victim and her family have no trust in the State police.
Finally, a CBI investigation is the best way to ensure that the case is handled in a bipartisan manner. This is important since allegations and counter-allegations have been flying thick and fast between the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party over ‘politicisation' of the case. Moreover, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has reportedly agreed to a CBI investigation, effectively clearing the path for the issue to be handed over to the Central agency.