Jharkhand Police have arrested two of the six identified accused who abducted and gang raped five women in Khunti, about 100 kilometres away from state capital Ranchi. The two arrested men have confessed to their crimes in front of a magistrate, as told by senior police officer R.K. Mallick. The chilling incident took place a couple of weeks ago when the six men had abducted an 11-member group including the five women in tribal areas of Khunti district. The group were in the district to showcase a street play to raise awareness in the village areas, and were asked by a Christian priest to come and show the play at his school. Roman Catholic Mission School is run by Father Alfonso Aind, from where they were abducted and taken to a nearby jungle where they were gang raped with tree branches and pistols. The women whose age ranges from 20 to 35, were later released after the rapists thought they had “taught them a lesson”. Father Alfonso was also picked up by the police for he had allegedly tried to dissuade the victims from filing a police complaint. The arrests and further interrogation have further revealed the shocking links of the rapists to Naxals and Pathalgarhi (tribal custom of erecting stone tablets) supporters.
This is a disgusting and shameful incident to say the least, but there are even scarier motives behind the abduction and gang rape which happened in Jharkhand. The six accused have known links to the Pathalgarhi and Naxal movements, and had abducted and gang raped the five women thinking them to be government agents.
Pathalgarhi in itself is not a new tradition in the tribal areas of Jharkhand, where villagers used to erect huge stone tablets citing an important day or for honouring a person. This old custom has been given a new angle by the separatists and Naxals who are supported in their endeavors by the missionary organisations operating in the tribal areas of the state. Some tribal leaders have been misleading the villagers in different parts of the state to demand sovereign rule. They misquote the Constitution and use it to prove that they have a right to rule in their area. Entry of any outsider from the village is frowned upon and is even met with violence by the misguided villagers. They refuse education and healthcare provided by the government and in turn openly rebel against anyone coming into the village. Pathalgarhi is the latest weapon of the Naxals who have instead turned villagers into their new weapons, seeing the heavy clampdown on the armed movement. The six accused who were identified have known links to both the Naxals and Pathalgarhi supporters. A cowardly act is taking place in tribal dominated Jharkhand today, the impact of which will be felt in the days to come if left unchecked.
Archbishops of Delhi & Daman and Diu who had earlier issued letters asking for his people to pray for a change in the central government have remained quite till date on this issue. The involvement of their brethren and the church in trying to cover up the gang rape will sadly not lead to them denouncing the crime. Father Alfonso had reportedly gone to the market after the gang rape victims had been released instead of going to the police. Reports have also been doing the rounds that he had asked the rapists to leave the sisters of the church alone while he said nothing to protect the sanctity of the five women.
There is a dire need for the government to take swift and decisive actions against both the Pathalghari and Naxal activists operating in the tribal areas of the country, especially Jharkhand. The activities of the church and missionary organisations working in these areas needs to be scrutinised with an even closer look as they are trying to erode the social fabric of the country from within. The gang rape and torture committed on the victims is further heightened by the fact that a religious person in fact wanted to let the accused escape unpunished. Shameful and disgusting for Jharkhand, and a side moment for India.
