Indian Guru Sparks Outrage By Saying Gang Rape Victim Was As Guilty As The Rapists
A self-proclaimed spiritual guru in
The Times of India quotes Asaram Bapu's speech to his devotees:
"Only 5-6 people are not the culprits. The victim is as guilty as her rapists... She should have called the culprits brothers and begged before them to stop... This could have saved her dignity and life. Can one hand clap? I don't think so."
CNN IBN reports that his spokesperson Neelam Dube has since come out to say that he has been misrepresented by the press and that he was just warning his female devotees to be careful. "His statement is being misquoted...he just said that the victim is 1 per cent to be blamed," Nube said. "She shouldn't have taken that bus. He was just asking his female devotees to be careful, media is misquoting him."
India's ruling Congress Party has since called on him to withdraw his comments. Many have blamed misogynistic views and moral policing on the part of many Indian policemen and policymakers for India's horrible record on sexual violence against women.
Meanwhile, five of the six accused in the gang rape and murder of the 23-year old were brought to Delhi's Saket District Court for trial but a ruckus created by lawyers that denounced a lawyer representing the accused delayed the court proceedings. It also forced the court to allow an in-camera trial that prevents the media from reporting any of the news without the court's permission. Their next hearing is scheduled for January 10.
The sixth accused could face charges in a juvenile court as police still wait bone-density test results.
You can see Bapu make the comment in the clip via CNN IBN:
- A centenarian who starts her day with gentle exercise and loves walks shares 5 longevity tips, including staying single
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- FSSAI in process of collecting pan-India samples of Nestle's Cerelac baby cereals: CEO
- India's e-commerce market set to skyrocket as the country's digital economy surges to USD 1 Trillion by 2030
- Top 5 places to visit near Rishikesh
- Indian economy remains in bright spot: Ministry of Finance
- A surprise visit: Tesla CEO Elon Musk heads to China after deferring India visit
- Unemployment among Indian youth is high, but it is transient: RBI MPC member
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market