By Sushil Kutty
“Kolkata rape-murder” versus the “Badlapur monstrosity”. The BJP is targeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the horrendous rape-cum-murder of a trainee doctor in a hospital and the Congress is out to settle scores for the INDI-Alliance after the sexual assault on a pair of schoolgirls aged 3 and 4! Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar, who is Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, went after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis even as a Congress team arrived in Badlapur to put the BJP on the mat.
Like the LoP in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Vijay Wadettiwar also doesn’t want to be distracted by the Kolkata gangrape-cum-murder. “Maharashtra has left Uttar Pradesh behind in crimes against women,” he said. The two girls were sexually assaulted by a sanitary worker, enraging Badlapur citizens who gathered in the hundreds and blocked trains. Only then did the local police lodge an FIR. The police, whether in Kolkata or in Thane, are the same, kowtowing to politicians who are neck-deep in their own mess.
Who are they protecting? The CBI is investigating the Kolkata rape-murder. On Thursday, the CBI submitted a “status report” to the Supreme Court. The report says the “scene of crime” had been “altered” – a fact every Tom, Dick and Harry knew. What will the Supreme Court do now that it, too, knows? “Nothing” comes to mind.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis passed a series of orders including setting up an SIT and a fast-track court. The Congress is not deterred. LoP Vijay Wadettiwar said “Badlapur” was worse than “Kolkata” – i.e., “your rape and my rape” entered the arena. The Supreme Court should keep this mind when hearing the Kolkata trainee doctor’s rape and murder. It is snake-eat-eat outside.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are too close for comfort for both Congress and BJP.
Think of LoP Rahul Gandhi teaming up with LoP Vijay Wadettiwar and Gandhi will harvest headlines like missionaries harvest pagan souls. There will be hell to pay for the Shinde-Fadnavis duo, which in turn will affect the Modi-Shah duo. Will the CBI’s “status report” open up the Kolkata rape-murder case further? The apex court had on August 20 asked the CBI to submit the status report in a “sealed cover” so that only the CBI and the top court will know the status of the investigation.
The CBI hadn’t arrested anybody though it questioned the sole accused in the rape-and-murder of the trainee doctor and also questioned the principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The CBI is making slow progress. Knowing the Kolkata Police’s reputation, things were bound to be difficult for the CBI. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is both Home Minister and Health Minister, should the CBI summon Mamata Banerjee for questioning?
Mamata in the dock will be exciting for some and disheartening for others. In West Bengal streets will boil over. The impression one gets, however, is that the crime-scene alteration has worked and Mamata Banerjee will ride this storm, too. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence but nothing to nail the real culprits. The one in custody will also go scot-free — a civic volunteer, the man is a lout and a foul-mouthed piece of #*^ — perfect volunteer for the cops!
The CBI’s ‘Status Report’ is proof that the central investigating agency has surrendered to the fait accompli. Not only was the crime scene altered out of kilter, the status report also spoke of the West Bengal Police telling the rape-murder victim’s parents that it “was a suicide” before confessing that it was rape-cum-murder, a largely well-known fact. Truth be told, the Supreme Court’s suo motu hearing hasn’t made a difference to the “untruth”.
The bench of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra are hearing what’s already there in the public domain and widely circulated in Social Media. The Supreme Court cannot and will not pull a rabbit out of its hat, but the Central Bureau of Investigation might. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has senior counsel Kapil Sibal to fight for the West Bengal government and Sibal is under attack in social media for siding with the “gang-rapists and murderers”.
So, will the CBI be able to nail Mamata Banerjee? The beneficiaries will be the Modi government and the BJP. The rape-murder of the trainee doctor in Kolkata came at a very opportune time for those against Mamata Banerjee and the INDI-Alliance. For the first time in 11 years of Modi, there was talk of President’s Rule in West Bengal though the asking price had come down to “Mamata Banerjee Resign.” This, after the Supreme Court took suo moto notice. The top court saved Mamata.
So, it’s Kolkata rape-cum-murder versus the Badlapur horror. Maharashtra has left Uttar Pradesh behind in crimes against women; law and order has collapsed. And if the Kolkata victim’s parents were made to wait for “three hours to get a glimpse of their slain daughter”, the Badlapur victims’ families were made to “wait for 11 hours to get an FIR lodged.” The Badlapur school allegedly has high connections in the government. Bottom-line: whether Kolkata or Badlapur, Mumbai, crime always finds a saviour in a politician. (IPA Service)