No place for vigilantism

The assault and alleged gang-rape of a Muslim woman on January 8 in a Haveri hotel by vigilantes belonging to the same community deserves to be condemned in strongest terms and calls for stringent punishment.

While four of the culprits have been arrested, three of the seven accused are still at large.

The incident combines several atrocious acts. The vigilantes were opposed to the woman’s relationship with a man from another community. Not only did they invade their privacy but assaulted the duo and later gang-raped the woman by taking her to a forest.

Thus they have not merely carried out the crime invoking the pretext of honour, but have committed a heinous crime by defiling the dignity of a woman.

While most such incidents of moral policing were being reported from the coastal districts, the latest two incidents pertain to Belagavi and Haveri.

A fortnight ago, a boy and a girl belonging to different faiths but mutually related as cousins were beaten up in a village of the Belagavi district by a group of Muslim vigilantes.

The criminal action was motivated by suspicion that the duo belonging to different communities had a love affair.

In both cases the vigilantes have belonged to the Muslim community. In a plural society like today’s there cannot be room for judging people by the way they interact with others and suspect their relationship.

People are free to live their life as it pleases them and any third individual or group should have no reason to interfere in their private space.

Strangely enough, the National Commission for Women has urged the state police chief to initiate action.

The Commission which kept mum and showed no action for months when two women from Kuki tribal community were paraded naked in Manipur, has woken up suddenly to demand action when the state police had betrayed no laxity in carrying out its duty in Karnataka.

A careful observer cannot miss the glaring dichotomy in the action of the panel for its unilateral concern.