There was outrage after a 13-year-old girl died and her mother suffered serious injuries on Wednesday evening when the two jumped off a moving bus in Punjab's Moga district to avoid being sexually assaulted by the conductor's assistant.
The Union home ministry has sought a report on the incident from the Punjab government. The bus belongs to Orbit Aviation which is owned by the Badal family. Sources said the bus has been leased to another company and police officials were probing all documents. Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal expressed grief over the death of the teenager. "I am aggrieved over this incident. It is unfortunate that bus belongs to us. Whatever happened is not good and it is like Himalayan blunder. It is the biggest sin," Singh told reporters.
He said a police complaint has been registered under section 203, and two people have already been arrested in this regard while efforts are on to nab others. "I will issue instructions to the concerned authorities to ensure that such an incident does not take place in future," he assured. The incident, however, triggered a volley of reactions from leaders across the political spectrum.
Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi of the BJP, the ruling party in alliance with the Badal's Akali Dal in Punjab, described the incident as "unfortunate" and welcomed a discussion if called for by the opposition in Parliament. "This incident is unfortunate and we extend our sympathy to the family of the victim. But such incidents are a subject of state's law and order. There is a tradition of not discussing such issues of state matter in the Parliament.
But if the opposition wants to discuss this issue, we welcome it," Naqvi told reporters outside Parliament. Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who is also the chief minister's daughter-in-law, strongly condemned the incident and said she would inquire about the company that owns the bus. "I will check who owns the bus. I read about the incident only in the papers this morning. I strongly condemn what happened. The trend of violence against women in the country must be addressed earnestly," she said.
Hitting out at the ruling Badal family in the state, AAP MP Bhagwant Singh Mann from Punjab said: "It's very shocking. It is very shameful. It must be a petty incident for the Badal family that owns the bus. But a small girl lost her life. Such goons travel in their buses and eve tease. And the driver didn't stop even when that girl protested against being eve teased. If anything, the conductor helped them."
CPM leader Brinda Karat noted that such recurrent incidents demonstrate government's nonchalance towards the issue of gender violence. "It really shows that there is absolutely no lesson being learned by the government," she questioned. BJP MP Uma Bharti called for the police and the administration to stay alert at all times take action against such misconduct. "Education institutions will have to create an environment in the country that people learn to respect women.
And the society itself needs to fight such anti-social elements," she added. Also, expressing shock over the death of the teenage girl, Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Bharka Shukla urged the government to set up fast-track court to ensure speedy justice. "Government should set up fast-track courts for the speedy trial of such cases, so that a victim gets justice without delay. This would also instill confidence in women and would make them feel secure," Shukla said.
The 35-year-old woman, wife of a marginal farmer, was travelling to meet her relatives at a nearby village with her daughter and 14-year-old son. Police officials said that when the bus reached a toll plaza about 10 kilometres from Moga city, the assistant bus conductor started sexually assaulting the woman in a largely empty bus with very few passengers. The woman complained to the conductor who allegedly sided with his assistant instead of helping the woman. The woman then approached the driver and asked him to stop the bus so that she could get down with her two children but he too did not listen to her and kept driving.
The woman then jumped off the moving bus with her daughter leaving both of them badly injured. The son was left behind in the bus. The bus driver, conductor and his assistant stopped the bus and fled from the scene. Passers-by took the two to the Moga civil hospital. The daughter died later. By late evening, family members of the woman had also reached the hospital. Emergency medical officer Mukesh Kumar said that the woman was out of danger.
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