'God's Will', 'Accident', Say Punjab Politicians on Death of Teen Who Was Thrown Off Bus // Why spare the Badals? Moga molestation case no different from Uber rape
NB - Punjab's Education Minister says this is an act of God. If attempted rape and brutality towards helpless people is an act of God, this man should be asked to explain his idea of divinity before the Akal Takth. Is this a ministry or a gang of hoodlums? If Punjab's elected representatives cannot show even a glimmer of human sympathy, they should keep silent. That would be better for them than this display of shamelessness - DS
CHANDIGARH: As the
Akali Dal-led Punjab government battles massive political protests over the
death of a teen who was molested and then thrown off a moving bus in Moga
district, a minister sought to play down the incident, calling her death as
"God's will", while a party lawmaker called it an
"accident". The 14-year-old girl and her mother were abused and groped by a group of men,
including the conductor, before being thrown from the bus on Wednesday. The
girl died instantly. Her mother was seriously injured.
"No one can stand against God's will... Even cars and
planes have accidents... we should leave all this to God," Punjab's
Education Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra said at an event on Friday. His party colleague and Moga MLA Joginder Pal Jain said, "You know a lot
of accidents take place. Whatever the compensation... If it's settled out of
court, is agreeable to both the parties." The Akali government is facing intense political heat over the teen's death -
the minor and her mother were attacked on a bus run by Orbit Aviation, a
company owned by Sukhbir Singh Badal, the Deputy Chief Minister and son of
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
The family of the girl has refused to cremate her and her father has demanded a case against Sukhbir Singh Badal. "I want justice... Is there nobody in the world who can lodge FIR against him (Sukhbir)?," the girl's father asked. The family has also turned down the state government's offer of Rs. 20 lakh compensation and a job. Opposition parties allege that it was because of the Badal connection that the police took 15 hours to arrest four men. The Congress, which has demanded that the bus company be shut down, has planned a 'rail roko' or blockades on railway tracks across the state today in protest against the teen's death.
The family of the girl has refused to cremate her and her father has demanded a case against Sukhbir Singh Badal. "I want justice... Is there nobody in the world who can lodge FIR against him (Sukhbir)?," the girl's father asked. The family has also turned down the state government's offer of Rs. 20 lakh compensation and a job. Opposition parties allege that it was because of the Badal connection that the police took 15 hours to arrest four men. The Congress, which has demanded that the bus company be shut down, has planned a 'rail roko' or blockades on railway tracks across the state today in protest against the teen's death.
A Rapist Culture
Why spare the Badals? Moga molestation case no different from Uber rape
Accused in gangrape of 20-year-old in Moga arrested, four still absconding
Why spare the Badals? Moga molestation case no different from Uber rape
In 2012, while contesting the Punjab Assembly polls, Sukhbir Singh Badal declared
himself a humble farmer. His only vehicle: an old Mussy tractor worth around Rs 2 lakh. A few months
later, ‘politician and agriculturist’ Badal acquired a huge stake in a
family-owned aviation company engaged in ferrying passengers on planes and
buses. According to the Registrar of Companies (RoC) documents,
Sukhbir now holds shares in Orbit Aviation in three different ways: 5,000
direct shares, about 2 crore shares through his hospitality firm Orbit Resorts
and 41 lakh shares through his media firm called G-Next Media Private Limited. Badal's aviation company has three flying jets -
an eight-seater Cessna 525A jet, another eight-seater Super King Air B 200 and
a helicopter Bell 429,” according to the Times of India.
On Wednesday night, a 13-year-old girl died when she was
thrown out after being molested by the staff and some passengers while travelling
in a bus in Punjab. The victim’s mother, who was also pushed out, is
hospitalized with severe injuries. The incident was a re-run of the Nirbhaya
gang-rape in Delhi, except that the outrage was limited to Punjab. The bus belonged to Orbit Aviation, the company co-owned by
Sukhbir Singh Bada Badal, deputy chief minister of Punjab. “Unfortunately,
the vehicle was ours,” his father and chief minister Parkash Singh Badal said.
Within hours, DGP Sumedh Singh Saini ruled out questioning of the owners. Naturally,
understandably. There are owners; and there are the Badals, the first family of
Punjab. Nobody crosses the path of a Badal in an Orbit of his own. Compare this with police action that followed the rape of a
woman by an Uber cab driver in Delhi in December 2014. Soon after the incident,
the Delhi government banned all app-based taxi services, questioned Uber on the
process of selection of drivers, screening of its staff and harassed its
management through notices. The cops filed an FIR against Uber for ‘cheating’
customers on the pretext of providing safe commuting and reliable drivers. Former home secretary and BJP MP RK Singh even insinuated
that there was a case for implicating Uber as a co-accused in the rape case.
“Definitely it should be banned; also, Uber should be
considered an accused. Uber is providing services, it has to take
responsibility, and it should engage drivers only after verification. It is my
view,” Singh had argued, while speaking to ANI. Home minister
Rajnath Singh had gone on to ask all states to ban Uber cabs. Now, nobody will suspend the licence of Orbit Aviation, find
out if it had the permit to ply buses on that route, ask the management if due
diligence was carried out while hiring the conductor and the helper, or whether
the driver had a valid license or was given ‘gender training’. The home
minister will not ask all states to ban Orbit’s buses—in case they have
inter-state travel permits—or ground Badal’s planes. RK Singh will, naturally,
not argue that the Badals, partners in NDA, be implicated.
This is not to argue that the Badals are in any way guilty
of the crime. There may have been some lapses in hiring the staff, checking
their police records, licences and testimonials; there could have been possible
issues with permits, but that is where the company’s, like Uber’s, role would
have ended. But, by not acting with the same enthusiasm, by excluding
owners from the probe, the Punjab police missed the opportunity to bring the
murky business of private buses and their staff under the scanner, put it under
the national spotlight. This could have India’s Uber moment for private buses.
Orbit’s owners may be high-fliers, but making them part of the probe would have
told us more about the ground realities of travelling on buses in remote
corners of India.
Accused in gangrape of 20-year-old in Moga arrested, four still absconding
