Two Years To Delhi Gang Rape; In Conversation With Someone Who Thinks Even Men Deserve Safety

Today, the date marks the second anniversary of a horrible crime that shook the very soul of our nation, or so we think. Two years back, a 23-year old Delhi girl was brutally assaulted and raped in a moving bus by five men, and the incident was heavily reported in media because of the level of heinousness those men had shown.

Even before the incident happened, eve teasing, molestation and rape were three words that were not that unheard of in India. Although, after that particular incident, there has been a sudden shift in the way our society looks at men, each and every one of them.

However, the question is, is it justified?

It is true that our society is full of perverts who consider women to be inferior to them in all manners, and think of themselves as the masters of the objects they see girls as. It is true that rapes are as much an issue in the country as is corruption. It is true that eve teasing has even happened in rallies against eve teasing, but looking at all men with raised eyebrows is surely not a way to deal with the problem.

A few days back, there was a video in which two college-going girls were seen thrashing and abusing three men who reportedly molested and abused them in a moving bus. Within no time, the issue gained the attention at many social media platforms, with the hashtag #RohtakBravehearts trending.

CM awards were announced, the driver and conductor of the bus were suspended and the molesters were incarcerated. Haryana government was even applauded for taking a quick action in such a sensitive issue.

However, soon after that video, another video surfaced, showing the two girls beating someone else in a park in Haryana. This was followed by a video showing the female passengers of the bus coming out in the open and saying that the boys didn’t tease or molest the girls. Just when the matter was heating up, an independent journalist Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj, who is associated with the issue of men suffering because of false cruelty and dowry charges under Section 498A, smelled something foul in the case and took it upon her to unearth the hidden facts.
She, in association with the team of The Logical Indian, explored some shocking facts in the case and made a small video about it, unearthing several cases where the Rohtak sisters filed false cases or made false charges for extorting money from boys’ families. Called The Final Face of The Rohtak Sisters, the video was uploaded on Facebook, TLI’s website and YouTube, and has been seen by hundreds and thousands of people by now.

As we all got to know about the details which were not taken up in the first few days of the incident, an uglier side of Women Safety in India has come to light, the side where not women but men are the victims.

We got in touch with Deepika and below are the excerpts from her interview:

How did you smell that there was a foul play involved in the incident?
To tell you the truth, I had applauded the girls when I had first read about the incident, but then my co-activists said that being someone who knows the ground realities of false charges against men, how can you be so sure that the girls are telling the truth? This made me a bit skeptical; being from Haryana myself, I could easily relate with this incident because this is unfortunately a common sight in roadways buses. However, when I repeatedly heard the video, I heard what most of the people ignored. The women in the bus were asking the girls to leave the boys in their thick Haryanvi accent. I understood the accent, which made me wonder why the women were supporting the boys. Also, in Haryana Roadways, if such cases happen, the boys are asked to vacate the bus, which was not done in this case. All these loopholes made me have a closer look at the story and I decided to go and interview the boys to know their side of the story.

You have been working for this cause for long now. How bad is the situation? Can you share some data?
It is very unfortunate that sensitive issues like rape and molestation are being used to extract revenge or extort money from men. I am primarily working for issues related with Section 498A, where men are falsely accused of demanding dowry. According to the data shared by Delhi Commission for Women, 1,466 of the 2,753 rape cases registered between April 2013 and July 2014 were found to be false. This is an alarming number, and we as a society, need to be more aware about such incidents before we jump on to conclusions that men are always at fault. Almost 1,500 false cases were filed for a highly sensitive issue like rape from June 2013 to July 2014, which reflects that there is an uprise in people making bad use of such laws.

Coming back to the Rohtak incident, where is the investigation headed? Any updates?
I know as much about the case as everyone else. Special investigation teams have been formed to investigate the case, and polygraph tests of three accused boys and those sisters would be done. There are 9 witnesses of the incident, including the conductor and driver of the bus, and I hope that they do not act partial towards any party. This incident can prove to be a landmark in such cases, and people should know that just because the complainant is a woman doesn’t mean that she is a victim.

You shared a newspaper clipping on your Facebook profile that the girls are demanding a probe into the documentary you made? Have you been served any notice?
No, none as of yet. Although if they do plan to serve me a notice, I have enough evidences to prove that I wanted to interview them too, but they didn’t agree to it.



You have been working in this field for quite some time now. What do you think should be done for better laws?
Well, I would like to appeal for two things. One, the media should be impartial and show both sides of the story before jumping to conclusions that make catchy headlines. In this incident, had the media acted fast and dug for details, the scenario would have been different. Also, the laws should be like this that no man who molests a lady should be let go but at the same time, no woman who falsely accuses someone should be left free to do the same thing again. Recently, a woman was reported to have filed 100 false cases against different men. This should be stopped. People should not feel free to misuse the law. The theory of “Guilty until proven innocent” should not be practiced in these cases.

It also happens to be the second anniversary of Delhi gang rape case. What do you think has changed?
There is no doubt that ‘crime against women’ is a concern in our society, and that after that particular incidence, there has been an uprise in awareness about women safety. Although there are certain wrong issues that have come up too after that incident; it is necessary to draw a line between true and false cries of women. When we talk of the role equality plays in a better society, we should talk about equality and not only women development. The laws need to be stricter and the police department needs more personnel. 'Crime against women' is a serious concern but so is rising crime rates everywhere in India. We as a society need to question where we are headed.