NCW slaps notice on Karnataka home minister over rape remark

Minister had suggested that two men raping a woman cannot be termed as gangrape

GN Bureau | October 9, 2015


#NCW   #Karnataka   #rape remark   #home minister K J George   #BPO  

Karnataka home minister K J George will be slapped a notice over his rape remark. National commission for women chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam said today that the Karnataka home minister is another example of a person who comments on violence over women without pondering over it.

"He doesn't even know what rape means and that is why he has commented like this," Kumaramangalam told the media. "We will send him a suo moto (notice), let us see how he responds," she added.

George’s insensitive remarks suggested that two men raping a woman cannot be termed as gangrape. “How can you say gangrape? Gangrape means four-five people,” George said while replying to a query on Wednesday over the gang rape of a 22-year old BPO employee by the driver and cleaner of a van in the country’s IT hub.

As he came in the line of fire with the Opposition BJP terming his remarks as “insensitive”, George today went into a damage control mode, saying “I am very sorry”.

“….a rape is a rape whether it is one person or a gang,” said George as he sought to explain away his controversial remarks.

“See public perception of the gangrape is a group of people openly raping a girl or a lady. That is a public perception, I said. It was two people involved. They were already been arrested when the question was asked (by the media), and what I feel it is condemnable heinous crime and we have taken action hands down,” he said.

Taking suo-motu cognizance, the commission for women sent a notice to George.

“We have asked for an immediate explanation, failing which he will be summoned by the commission,” NCW Chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam said.

George came under attack from BJP state leader Suresh Kumar, who said, “The home minister can’t be so insensitive ….. by giving a new definition (to gang rape).”

The minister’s remarks came after state chief minister Siddaramaiah held a meeting with top police officials over the law and order in the city, an issue that came to the fore after the gang rape incident on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.

“We have already arrested the culprits. Actually nobody was condemning who have committed the crime. You have to condemn such a person,” he had said.

For hours on Saturday night, a young call centre worker in Bengaluru was raped inside a moving mini-bus at knife-point, allegedly by the driver and another man.

Two men have been arrested in the case that shamed the IT city on a day it had two important visitors - prime minister Narendra Modi and German chancellor Angela Merkel.

The 23-year-old woman, who is from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, left office on Saturday night and was waiting for an autorickshaw at around 10 pm when the private mini-bus with only a driver and a cleaner stopped and offered to take her to the city's south-east, where she stayed with her sister.

The woman reportedly got into the bus even though a friend who was with her advised her against it.

The police say for over three hours, the two men drove around deserted places of the Madivala area and raped the woman. At one point, they even stopped the vehicle and raped her.

The men allegedly dumped the woman near a temple. The woman called her sister and friends, who came to the spot and took her to the St. John's Hospital nearby. She left the hospital on Monday.

Comments

 

Other News

‘World’s biggest festival of democracy’ begins

The much-awaited General Elections of 2024, billed as the world’s biggest festival of democracy, began on Friday with Phase 1 of polling in 102 Parliamentary Constituencies (the highest among all seven phases) in 21 States/ UTs and 92 Assembly Constituencies in the State Assembly Elections in Arunach

A sustainability warrior’s heartfelt stories of life’s fleeting moments

Fit In, Stand Out, Walk: Stories from a Pushed Away Hill By Shailini Sheth Amin Notion Press, Rs 399

What EU’s AI Act means for the world

The recent European Union (EU) policy on artificial intelligence (AI) will be a game-changer and likely to become the de-facto standard not only for the conduct of businesses but also for the way consumers think about AI tools. Governments across the globe have been grappling with the rapid rise of AI tool

Indian Railways celebrates 171 years of its pioneering journey

The Indian Railways is celebrating 171 glorious years of its existence. Going back in time, the first train in India (and Asia) ran between Mumbai and Thane on April 16, 1853. It was flagged off from Boribunder (where CSMT stands today). As the years passed, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway which ran the

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: How to connect businesses with people

7 Chakras of Management: Wisdom from Indic Scriptures By Ashutosh Garg Rupa Publications, 282 pages, Rs 595

ECI walks extra mile to reach out to elderly, PwD voters

In a path-breaking initiative, the Election Commission of India (ECI), for the first time in a Lok Sabha Election, has provided the facility of home voting for the elderly and Persons with Disabilities in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Voters above 85 years of age and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) with 4

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter