Home Min has assured to look into gender crimes in Bihar: NCW

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has given an assurance that he will look into the recent gender crimes in Bihar, according to a member of the National Commission for Women. The Commission also shared a report on the issue, including on the brutal gangrape in Motihari last month, during a meeting with Singh at his residence today.

Sushma Sahu, a member of the Commission who accompanied Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam at the meeting, said, "Rajnath Singh has assured us that he will look into the matter." There have been several instances of gender crimes recently in Bihar, including two rape cases in Motihari, an acid attack in Aurangabad and a case of an acid attack survivor committing suicide by electrocuting herself.

The commission had shared its report on the Motihari gangrape with the Prime Minister's Office and also met the President earlier this week seeking his intervention in the issue. A 21-year-old woman was allegedly gangraped and brutalised with a wooden stick and a pistol in Motihari on June 13.

Sahu, had visited Motihari after the gangrape, and prepared a detailed report which mentioned how the two-finger test continues to be carried out on rape survivors in hospitals in Bihar despite a ban on the practice by the Supreme Court. The report also mentions a deliberate attempt on part of the local hospital staff and police to play down rape cases and "alter medical reports".

Kumaramangalam had earlier said, "Our member who went to Motihari found a huge cover-up. There is a collusion between police and medical staff to brush rape cases under the carpet."