Unable to rein in gang-rapes and child murders in India and Pakistan, it appears both countries are trying to shut-down media coverage of such crimes.
Five police suspended over gruesome India gang-rape, murder
An average of 87 rapes were reported in India every day last year
New Delhi: Five senior police officers have been suspended over their handling of an investigation into the gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman that has sparked outrage across India and triggered days of protests.
The seriously injured teenager from the disadvantaged Dalit caste was found in mid-September outside her village in northern India's Uttar Pradesh state and died this week in a New Delhi hospital.
The police have arrested four high-caste men on charges of gang-rape and murder.
But the police have faced criticism for cremating the woman's body in the middle of the night - reportedly with the help of some petrol - against the wishes of her family and religious custom.
A senior policeman on Thursday sparked further outrage after claiming that a forensic report and an autopsy had shown that the woman had not been raped.
This contradicts statements from the victim and her mother and reported hospital findings, while experts said the forensic test was carried out too long after the attack.
Hundreds of police have also barricaded the village, preventing the woman's family from leaving and journalists and opposition politicians from talking to them.
The family's mobile phones have also reportedly been seized.
The point here was to keep the attack from getting national or international media attention. This order is believed to have come down from the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Now, after several protests demanding he resign, Yogi is suspending the police who, apparently, followed his orders.
The victim's brother told one Indian news channel that the family were scared for their lives. The local high court has ordered authorities to provide the family protection.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath late Friday announced the suspension of the Hathras district police chief and four others.
The Hindu monk and close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced that the victim's family, the accused and the suspended policemen would all undergo lie-detector and drug tests.
On Friday evening in the latest protest, around 500 people including the capital's chief minister and a prominent Dalit politician gathered in central New Delhi demanding justice.
"We (women) are not actually free, even though India is independent," Sanskriti, one of the women at the Delhi protest site told AFP. "This is something I want to raise my voice against. And I just wish all the people get united and they understand that it is high time to do something about it," she added.
The young woman's death comes months after four men were hanged for the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a student on a bus in New Delhi, in a case that came to symbolise India's epidemic of sexual violence.
An average of 87 rapes were reported in India every day last year, according to data by the National Crime Records Bureau, but large numbers are thought to go unreported.
It's not an epidemic; it's a way of life. This has been going on in India for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
India: Minor girl kills 11-year-old sister with boyfriend’s help for
‘creating hurdles in her relationship’
The accused and her boyfriend dumped the girl’s body near railway tracks in a UP village
Evangeline Elsa, Social Media Editor, Gulf News
A 15-year-old girl in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh murdered her 11-year-old sister with the help of her boyfriend, before trying to elope with him on Thursday. Social media users in India are sharing details about the shocking incident after the younger sister’s body was found dumped near railway tracks in a UP village.
According to Indian news reports, police said that the two sisters had gone to Mirzapur, on Thursday, on the pretext of getting their bicycles repaired. When the two sisters did not return home late that evening, their father went to Padri Police Station and registered a complaint about his missing daughters.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sanjay Verma told Indian news media outlets: "On October 1, Dileep Singh's two daughters Anjali and Nandni went missing. A complaint was filed in Padri station.” The police began a search operation to find the missing sisters.
The official said that the police managed to locate the whereabouts of the elder girl, Anjali, but were unable to find the younger sibling, Nandini. “The elder sister was spotted with her lover on a motorbike,” he said.
Two days after the missing report was filed, a minor girl was found dead near a railway track in Bharuhiya village of Mirzapur. The police identified it as Nandini's body. They then detained the elder sister and her boyfriend and found out what had happened.
The accused told the police that she had taken her sister to Mirzapur, along with her boyfriend. There, the three had food at an eatery, purchased clothes, and then left for home.
While returning home, Nandini, the younger sister fell asleep. The young couple took advantage of the situation and strangled her.
The official said: "The younger sister was allegedly creating hurdles in their relationship. Hence, she planned the incident."
The couple fled after dumping her body on the railway tracks near the Dhaura railway crossing. The police found the girl's body and sent it for post-mortem, the official added.
Girls are considered so worthless in India that even a girl's big sister finds she is disposable for convenience's sake.
India: Grandparents murder 2-day-old baby, stab 80 times with knife
Police recover the knife and blade used in the incident
Surabhi Sudarsan, Magazines Web Editor, Gulf News
A two-day-old girl's dead body was recovered from the bushes in Bhopal city from the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The police have arrested her great grandparents for murder.
Local media reported that a woman got pregnant after an illicit relationship and gave birth to a child. And due to fear of social ignominy (public shame or disgrace), her grandfather killed the newborn.
I am completely flabbergasted that someone could think that murdering an innocent child is more honourable than admitting an illicit affair. Yet, it happens every day in India. It is complete madness!
While confirming the incident, police officials said that the woman’s grandparents struck the two-day-old with a knife, and a blade, and then threw the body in the bushes.
According to the local news outlets, the police initially thought that some animal must have killed the girl. Later, the postmortem report clarified that more than 80 stab wounds were found on the girl's body.
Apparently, the police collected information from the hospitals about girl children born within a week and also checked the footage of all the CCTV cameras installed up to five kilometres from the site of the incident.
During the investigation, the police got information about the midwife Vidyabai and her husband, Puran Singh. According to police, the two confessed to their crime and said that their granddaughter had become pregnant in January after having an illicit relationship with a young man. Police have recovered the knife and blade used in the incident and filed a case of murder according to the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Pakistan’s media watchdog bans coverage of motorway gang rape case
Implemented on electronic media, print as well as social media with immediate effect
Published: October 03, 2020
Sana Jamal, Correspondent, Gulf News
Photo for illustrative purposes.
Islamabad: Pakistan media watchdog has barred all TV channels from further media coverage of the motorway gang rape case three weeks after the shocking incident.
“All satellite TV channels (news & current affairs) are therefore directed to comply with the orders of the honorable Anti-Terrorism Court, Lahore, regarding Sialkot motorway incident in letter and spirit and refrain from airing any content with regard to the instant case, in future,” reads the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) notification issued on October 2. The ban is to be implemented on electronic media, print as well as social media with immediate effect.
Investigating Officer Zulfiqar Cheema had filed an application seeking a ban on media coverage of the incident citing “hindrance in the arrest of the prime suspect”. The notification cited the court order that observed that it was an “offence relating to sex and certainly due to media coverage the victim and his family will also be disgraced.”
The judge also noted that one of suspects, Shafqat Ali, had been shifted to jail for the purpose of identification and “if media coverage of the case was not stopped, it would certainly diminish the evidentiary worth of the material collected by the prosecution.”
The other suspect is named Abid Ali, and he is still at large.
According to local media reports, the prosecutor relied upon section 13(2) of Punjab Witness Protection Act 2018. The section reads, “The reporting of the identity of a person connected with an offence of terrorism or a sexual offence or the identity of the members of his family shall be prohibited in print, electronic or other media, if the court is satisfied that the quality or voluntariness of the evidence of the person concerned will diminish thereby.”
Pakistan has witnessed a massive public outrage over the handling of sexual assault cases after a woman was gang-raped on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway in front of her children. The police have managed to arrest one of the accused while the prime suspect is still on the loose.
Reema Omer, legal advisor (South Asia) at International Commission of Jurists, said on Twitter: “There are legitimate grounds to regulate how media covers crime, including ensuring right to a fair trial of the accused and protecting privacy/confidentiality of victims. Blanket bans on reporting that reiterate such pernicious stereotypes about sexual violence have no justification.”
Meanwhile...
Police officer Sheikh stokes controversy by blaming the victim for the attack
Published: September 30, 2020
Zubair Qureshi, Correspondent, Gulf News
Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) of Lahore Umar Sheikh has once again earned public condemnation by giving another controversial statement before the Senate of Pakistan’s Human Rights (HR) committee that the gang rape victim was travelling late at night without her husband’s permission.
In Islam, that means she deserves to be gang-raped, apparently.
When the committee members asked him if the victim had said so in her statement, Sheikh said it was his assumption.
The lawmakers were furious to listen to his reply and reprimanded him for passing a sweeping statement in a matter that has shocked the entire country.
“Earlier, too, you have been blaming the victim and on your part have done nothing to provide security on that route”, they said. Seeing the senators’ mood, the police officer hurriedly apologized for giving his personal opinion.
This was not the first time he has done so. Earlier, Sheikh had expressed his “wonder” as to what had compelled the rape victim to leave for Gujranwala in the middle of night with three children and without checking petrol in her car.
Oakville, Ont man arrested on child pornography charges
By Louie Rosella InsideHalton.com
A 57-year-old Oakville man is facing child pornography charges after an investigation by Halton Regional Police’s internet child exploitation unit.
Police said the unit was made aware of a user that that was “accessing child sexual abuse material on the internet,” Det. Todd Martin said in a release.
Paul Blans, of Oakville, was arrested Friday and charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography and obstructing justice.
The accused was held pending a bail hearing.
Anyone who may have any additional information on this case can call police at 905-825-4747 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
'Scared' Bristol teenager who fled care 'raped in a park'
A 16-year-old boy was raped in a park after running away from a B&B where Bristol City Council social services had placed him, a public inquiry heard.
The teenager was "too scared" to stay at the accommodation because adults "who could pose a risk" to him were there, the hearing was told.
City council director of children and family services Ann James admitted the incident was "indefensible". The incident was revealed during an independent inquiry into child abuse.
Ms James said the council no longer placed young people or care leavers in B&B temporary accommodation.
The inquiry is examining how councils deal with grooming and sexual abuse, as well as sexual exploitation of children by organised networks.
Child Sex Abuse Inquiry, Henrietta Hill
The panel was told the 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffered violence in the family home, mental health problems and used drugs supplied by his parents.
He became a looked-after child by Bristol City Council but continued to be at risk of exploitation, the inquiry's lead counsel Henrietta Hill QC said.
Junior counsel Paul Livingston said: "He reported that on one occasion he was too scared to stay at the bed and breakfast and therefore spent the night in a park where he was raped.
"Children's social care subsequently acknowledged that while the child was placed in bed and breakfast accommodation he was living with adults who could pose a risk."
'Intolerable incident'
The boy had left the family home after an assault by his parents and had six separate placements during a two-month period, the inquiry heard. Asked by Ms Hill if she thought the placements met the boy's needs, Ms James said: "I do not."
"It is indefensible that we have children in care who are placed in such temporary accommodation," she said. "Rates of children in care nationally have grown at a swifter rate than placement provision has been able to keep pace with. We're developing an out-of-hours service in Bristol because it's intolerable that that should happen to a 16 or 17-year-old," she added.
The inquiry will resume on October 29.
UK child abuse inquiry is a 'cover up', says detective
who exposed grooming scandal
EXCLUSIVE: Maggie Oliver claims the inquiry is ignoring victims’ testimonies and refusing to look at evidence in grooming blackspots like Rotherham, Rochdale and Telford
By Geraldine McKelvie
The Mirror
Maggie Oliver is one of a string of experts who has slammed the probe (Image: MEN)
The police officer who exposed one of Britain’s worst grooming scandals has blasted the national child abuse inquiry as a “cover up”.
Maggie Oliver claims it is ignoring victims’ testimony in favour of reports from institutions – and refusing to look at evidence in grooming blackspots like Rotherham, Rochdale and Telford.
The ex-detective constable, who resigned from Greater Manchester Police over its treatment of victims in Rochdale, says two thirds of a statement she gave to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse was not used.
Ms Oliver, one of a string of experts slamming the probe, said: “For me, this is another cover-up. It seems the intention is to turn a blind eye to the facts.
“The inquiry is a platform for those who have failed kids for decades to say everything is fantastic. It’s a shambles.”
Ms Oliver, whose Foundation has supported around 100 abuse survivors in the past year, added: “My inbox is rammed with victims’ messages. I could have brought 20 to the inquiry.”
It has heard from a raft of police and council officials but just two victims. Harriet Wistrich, director of the Centre for Women’s Justice, said: “It feels like a hugely wasted opportunity.”
The investigation into abuse by organised crime groups is one of 15 strands of the inquiry announced in 2014 – which has cost £100 million so far.
But instead of probing towns like Rotherham, Rochdale and Telford where abuse by paedophile gangs took place, it is focusing on six council areas: St Helens, Tower Hamlets, Swansea, Durham, Bristol and Warwickshire.
Dino Nocivelli, of specialist child abuse law firm Bolt Burdon Kemp, said: “Working class victims have often been ignored by the police and social services – and this is potentially happening again.”
An inquiry spokesman said: “This is a forward-looking investigation into child sexual exploitation by organised networks. Instead of going over previous reviews and inquiries, we are examining whether lessons have been learned from them or if children are still at risk from sexual exploitation in 2020.
This is a Crock! No previous inquiry ever really tackled the real causes of the gang-rapes and trafficking of little British girls by Pakistani men, with the blessing of councils and police. No-one has answered, or even asked why the vast majority of perpetrators were Pakistani men! Until they do that, all the inquiries in the world are an expensive waste of time and leave British girls still very vulnerable to the still-operating Pakistani gangs.
“We are focusing on six areas with a range of sizes and social characteristics, to delve deeper into the key issues.
“The inquiry published all the parts of Ms Oliver’s statement that were relevant. Victims and survivors are at the heart of this investigation.”
Stupid! Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!!!!
It would appear that the old guard has reared it's ugly head again and is determined to protect the police and councils, and save the Pakistanis from embarrassment. Of course, that means they will be able to continue with their racist abuse of little Brit girls. This #PCMadness is the same as what allowed the horror to happen in the first place, more than two decades ago.
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N.Z. man jailed for possessing objectionable publications
remains behind bars
Otago Daily Times
By: Rob Kidd
A Central Otago sex offender who hoarded a horrifying collection of child-abuse images says he now understands the impact on the victims involved.
At sentencing, before Judge Emma Smith in the Alexandra District Court last year, it was revealed the offending started less than a month after the man had completed a home detention term for groping a 6-year-old boy.
The judge said Johnstone lacked significant insight into his crimes but the prisoner told the Parole Board at a hearing last month that that had changed.
The Otago Corrections Facility inmate opted not to front up before the board, accepting he was not yet eligible for early release.
Instead, he wrote a letter saying that "he now understands the serious effect on children that his involvement in the possession and distribution of objectionable material has had", board chairman Sir Ron Young said.
Johnstone was scheduled to start the Child Sex Offender Treatment Programme in early 2021 and said he was motivated to do so. He would next see the Parole Board in November 2021.
Among the files amassed by Johnstone over 14 months were photos of young girls being violated and subjected to bestiality, as well as young boys being abused and kept in a cage, the court heard at sentencing.
Most of the images found on the man's computers fell into "category A", the judge said, the highest end of the scale.
Many of the victims were aged between 2 and 14 years, but one image was of a 6-month-old baby.
A report before the court said Johnstone realised he needed to stay away from children, because sometimes when he saw them in the community he had flashes of them "in a sexual manner".
His offending was discovered when New Zealand police received a referral from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about the user of an instant messaging app. Johnstone's profile picture on the site depicted child sexual abuse.
His sentence will end in November 2022.
Otago, NZ
Another N.Z. child sex offender to stay in jail
By Rob Kidd
News Dunedin Crime
A Dunedin sex offender who targeted single mothers to prey on their children will remain in prison for at least another nine months.
Until that was completed, the inmate — who is serving a sentence of six years, four months, imposed in 2018 — could not be released, board chairman Sir Ron Young said.
Pearson met one of his victims, a 9-year-old boy, in late 2015 after developing a friendship with his mother. The prisoner would have the child at his home after school at least once a week, and later he began spending the night there, the Dunedin District Court heard at sentencing.
The sexual abuse started almost immediately.
Since the trauma, the victim had developed behavioural issues and his mother wrote a statement to the court saying she hated Pearson for what he had done.
There were two other solo mothers who felt the same.
A 10-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl, whom Pearson had known for several years, were also among the victims.
Between April and August 2016, Pearson often had the children together at his home in Maryhill, the court heard. The defendant invented a game in which he would end up naked in front of the children, and they too would be forced to remove clothing and get into bed with him.
Pearson’s crimes came to light when sexual text messages were uncovered by one of the victim’s mothers on the boy’s phone.
When police raided the man’s home they discovered he had used covert devices to record footage of a young boy using his bathroom, four males using a Dunedin public toilet and people in the changing rooms at Moana Pool.
More than 130 objectionable images and videos were found at his home.
Pearson, the Parole Board heard, was working in the prison laundry and "behaving well". "He has had a lifetime of depression, but he says recently his attitude and outlook has considerably improved," Sir Ron said.
Pearson was told a release to Dunedin would not be appropriate given the victims’ concerns and the prisoner said Christchurch was his preferred option.
He will next come before the board in July. Pearson’s sentence ends in January 2023.
Police probe sexual assault of minor in Hulhumale', Maldives
Shahudha Mohamed, The Edition
04 October 2020
Maldives Police Service, on Sunday, revealed that authorities were investigating the sexual abuse of a minor in reclaimed suburb Hulhumale'.
According to police, the sexual abuse case concerning two perpetrators and a male under the age of 18, was reported around 1600hrs on October 3. Although authorities assured that the investigation was ongoing, police have yet to arrest any suspects regarding the case.
Local media Mihaaru reported that a local actor and his wife are alleged to be the perpetrators behind the incident.
Protesters calling for their arrest raised their voices in Hulhumale' and gathered around the actor's house this evening. Media reports state that the actor and his wife were taken to the station in a police vehicle during the protests. However, police maintained that the two individuals taken under police custody from the scene were driven to the station because they "requested for protection".
Public ire continues to soar over the government's meagre record of arresting and convicting perpetrators of sexual offences despite several promises to support the rights of children and women.
Protesters demanding justice for rape and sexual assault victims held demonstrations during June and July in front of Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services as well as the roads of capital Male', following an upsurge of reported cases and alleged misconduct of police during investigations.
Recently, a collective of gender equality advocates originating from Family Legal Clinic (FLC), Nufoshey and Uthema Maldives also launched the #FundOurSafety initiative, voicing demands to reallocate state funds for the protection of victims.
Meanwhile, the police have urged to report all such cases to the police's Family and Child Protection Wing at +960 3000600 or the Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services at 1412.
Child sexual abuse cases on the rise in Mangochi, Malawi
Daniel Sapuli
Malawi24
Police in Mangochi say child sexual abuse cases are on the rise in the district despite continuous efforts to curb the cases.
The rise has been partly attributed to harmful cultural practices such as rituals to boost business gain.
In an interview, Mangochi police deputy publicist Sub-Inspector Amina Daudi said for the past nine months the station has registered 57 cases compared to 35 cases which were on record in the same period in 2019.
She said: “The findings attribute the increase to some cultural practices and beliefs. The figures have increased despite efforts by the Police and other stakeholders like Social Welfare, Yoneco and World Vision which are aimed at keeping the girl child safe from all kinds of abuse.
“Covid-19 has also been identified as another accelerator of defilement cases as children were not in school for the previous months,” she said.
Daudi further added that out of the 57 cases, 50 have been completed in court and the perpetrators are serving jail terms while 7 cases are still ongoing.
Wow! That is incredibly fast!
She singled out denial/refusal of witnesses to testify in court as one of the challenges in pursuit of justice in court. As a result, perpetrators are acquitted due to lack of concrete evidence.
Daudi also noted that most of the perpetrators are close relatives especially stepfathers.
The police station has, however, thanked stakeholders and members of the public for their support through tips and alerts which have made police work easier. The Police have expressed commitment to continue with measures in order to reduce the cases in the district and ensure safety, security as well as full enjoyment of rights by young girls.
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