Mysuru Gangrape Survivor Should Not Have Been in Desolate Area: Home Minister

The Home Minister did not stop there. He said the Congress was trying to ‘rape him’ using the issue.

An anti-rape protest. Image used for representational purposes. 

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Reacting to the alleged gangrape of a young woman in Mysuru, Karnataka, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra has said that the MBA student and her friend should not have been travelling in a desolated area at 7:30 pm.

On Tuesday, 24 August evening, a student was allegedly gangraped by four men and her friend was attacked near Chamundi Hills in Mysuru. The student, riding pillion with her friend, was on her way back from Chamundi Hills, a popular tourist destination.

After speaking to the police in Mysuru, Jnanendra said, “Around 7:30 pm, they went there. It is a desolate area. They should not have gone there that late. We don't have any right to ask people not to go anywhere. They went."

He added that he is seeking an explanation from the police as to why there were no patrol vehicles in that area. So far, no arrests have been made in the case right now and the survivor is receiving medical treatment in a hospital in Mysuru.

The Home Minister’s insensitivity did not end there. While reacting to the Opposition’s allegations of the government’s handling of the law and order situation in the state, Araga Jnanendra said, “The Congress is trying to rape me; they are trying to rape the Home Minister”.

He defended his comments later when a Kannada news channel sought his reaction. He said that he was just joking when he made the statement and there should be no politics played over it.

So far, there has been no reaction from Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai or anybody else in the Karnataka government to the Home Minister’s statement. The BJP, too, has refused to comment on the statement.

The Congress reacted to the statement in a press conference held by the state president DK Shivakumar.

“He (Araga Jnanendra) seems to be using the term rape very casually. I will not seek a response from him but will ask the leaders of his party to respond to this statement of the Home Minister.”

DK Shivakumar, Congress Leader, Karnataka

But Shivakumar, too, managed to add an insensitive comment. While continuing to attack the Home Minister, Shivakumar said, “If there are any Congress leaders who are raping the Home Minister, I demand that they be booked under the relevant section of the IPC. Whoever it may be, it could be Ugrappa, me, or even Siddaramaiah.”

(This article was first published in The News Minute and republished here with permission.)