Ranchi Notes
By Vivekanand Jha*
Where is the antidote to this maddening frenzy?
Ranchi: Ankita, an adolescent girl of class twelve in Dumka, in Jharkhand, who was set ablaze four days ago, today breathed her last in Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi.
The culprit, Sharukh Hussain, a neighbour who was reported to have been stalking her for quite some time, surreptitiously went inside her home in the wee morning hours when everybody was asleep. Finding her sleeping all alone, he drenched her with petrol before setting her ablaze. The family members rushing in to help her, found themselves remarkably helpless to save her.
In her final statement Ankita said: ‘The way I am dying, he should die the same way.”‘ This is the living testimony of the tragic feelings of a young woman whose life was cut short, even before she had begun to discover the meaning of human birth. The accused Sharukh Hussain was arrested by the police, and on account of the testimony of the deceased, another accomplice of Sharukh Hussain too was arrested. Sharukh Hussain in fact had issued an open threat to the girl and appeared almost indifferent when arrested.
The incident of Ankita has another overtone to it: it assumes the religious overtone. In fact, across Dumka, the Hindu organisations have taken processions demanding the expeditious death sentence for the accused through the trials in fast court.
In another incident a couple of days ago, an acid attack was launched on a girl allegedly by the spurned lover in Chhatra. She too is admitted to RIMS Ranchi. The girl, Kajal Kumari, from the Huntergunj area in Chhatra is still in critical condition. Her mother Devyani Devi appears helpless against the avalanche of sorrow stacked against her daughter. With no financial support forthcoming from anywhere, the mother, from an extremely impoverished family, is rendered helpless.
Moreover, another mentally deranged man had thrown acid on a mother and daughter in sleeping condition recently, again in Jharkhand–all these incidents have cumulatively contributed to the national conscience being shaken to a considerable extent.
*Vivekanand Jha is a Ranchi-based author, academician and public intellectual.
Its time we wake up to the helpless cries of gender being victimized by those devils . Young innocent girls are being burnt alive or being crippled by brutal acid attacks . Long court proceedings do serve as motivation to those criminals . We need to punish those devils in public view to set the deter.