The mother of the 9-year-old girl in the Nangal Village in Delhi, brutally raped, murdered gives consent to using their photo on social media.
The Background to the Crime
The 9-yr-old girl who lived in Nangal Village in Delhi had gone in the evening to the crematorium nearby to collect cold drinking water. The four men at the crematorium including the priest allegedly raped her, murdered her, and then informed the parents she died by electrocution and forcibly cremated her against the parents’ wishes.
The girl was forcibly cremated by the accused who had told her mother not to get the police involved as it will lead to a post-mortem where the girl’s organs will be stolen.
After widespread anger and protests, the police had taken four people into custody after the attack. Recently, news came out that the Delhi police were putting pressure on the parents to take back the case and today on Friday, August 13, the Delhi Police are telling the Court, “No evidence to confirm if the 9-year-old girl was raped before being killed.”
Rahul Gandhi’s Visit to the Parents
At the time that Rahul Gandhi had visited the girl’s parent, no one in the political sphere had really taken note of this heinous crime and in all probability, the crime would have been white-washed and the perpetrators declared innocent because they burned evidence of rape and murder by cremation.
Rahul Gandhi visited her parents to stand with them in solidarity due to the sordid nature of the crime. The incident rose to a new level of controversy when Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter account, which has 19.5 million followers, was locked after he posted a photograph of himself with the parents of a girl who was allegedly raped and killed in New Delhi on August 1, saying the family deserved justice.
Rahul Gandhi’s Account Locked, Twitter Accused of Double Standards
Thousands of indignant voices in India on social media were raised asking Twitter to restore Rahul Gandhi’s account.
While Indian law bars disclosing the identity of victims of sexual assault and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights issued a notice to Twitter asking for the removal of Gandhi’s tweet, this law is made particularly to protect the privacy of the living victim. In this case, neither was the girl alive, nor did Rahul Gandhi display her picture, but rather, the parents’ picture, which in any case was blurry and hardly recognizable.
Indira Jaising lawyer on Twitter said, “We must understand the prohibition against disclosing the identity of a rape victim is to protect the living survivor, that logic does not apply to the dead victim.”
We must understand the prohibition against disclosing the identity of a rape victim is to protect the living survivor , that logic does not apply to the dead victim @TwitterIndia @ShashiTharoor @RahulGandhi
— Indira Jaising (@IJaising) August 12, 2021
Twitter has also been accused of double standards because Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also shown in pictures in 2014 with Nirbyaya’s parents with no repercussions on these pictures in Twitter, this too when the case was still sensitive and still going on in the courts.
2012 Delhi gang rape victim, Nirbhaya's parents meet PM Narendra Modi in Delhi pic.twitter.com/EClusiYzJM
— ANI (@ANI) December 31, 2014
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya sparked a controversy after he shared a video of the Hathras gang-rape victim on Twitter, which experts say is in violation of the Indian Penal Code (IPC); however, Twitter did not take any strict action on this revealing double standard for two sets of people.
Mother Says They Have No Objection to the Photo Shared
After the controversy hit the ceiling, the 9-year-old girl’s mother came forward in a statement saying that they had no objection to Sh. Rahul Gandhi sharing their picture and she wants justice for her daughter.
The news went international with Al Jazeera writing “Blocked by Twitter for political reasons: India’s main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi slams Twitter for blocking tweet over alleged rape and murder of nine-year-old Dalit girl.” The girl belonged to India’s marginalized Dalit community, the former so-called “untouchables” who fall at the bottom of India’s caste hierarchy and Rahul Gandhi had tweeted that the family deserves justice.
Rahul Gandhi Says Not an Attack on Him But On The Democratic Structure of Country
Today, Rahul Gandhi said in a video released to reporters that by shutting him down, Twitter was interfering in politics and playing into the hands of the Modi government, which is bitterly opposed to Gandhi. He stressed that this was not an attack on him but an attack on the democratic essence of the nation.
“This is an attack on the democratic structure of the country. It’s obvious now that Twitter is actually not a neutral, objective platform. It’s something that listens to what the government of the day” he said.
While Rahul Gandhi’s account is not completely closed and all his tweets are visible until August 6, the platform hid his post about the girl and has blocked him from tweeting further.
The accounts of several other Congress leaders were also locked for tweeting the picture.
A Twitter spokesperson said that the platform’s rules were “enforced judiciously and impartially”.
“We have taken proactive action on several hundred tweets that posted an image that violated our rules, and may continue to do so in line with our range of enforcement options,” the spokesperson said in an email.
“Our aim is always to protect individuals’ privacy and safety.”
A poll by Aaj Tak shows Majority on Twitter Feel Twitter is Biased
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter account blocked; Rahul Gandhi accuses Twitter, says “Twitter’s attitude is biased”
Do you agree with him about this?
कांग्रेस नेता राहुल गाँधी का ट्विटर अकाउंट ब्लॉक; राहुल गाँधी ने ट्विटर पर आरोप लगाते हुए कहा “ट्विटर का रवैया पक्षपातपूर्ण है”
क्या आप उनकी इस बात से सहत हैं?#YourSpace #India #Politics #Twitter #SocialMedia— AajTak (@aajtak) August 13, 2021
Angry voices rage through Twitter demanding the restoration of Rahul Gandhi’s account.
Famous cartoonist Satish Acharya makes a cartoon on this.
Rahul Gandhi's Twitter account locked! #RahulGandhi #TwitterIndia pic.twitter.com/tEcu9ZndTk
— Satish Acharya (@satishacharya) August 12, 2021
Hey
@Twitter
,
Now that the mother of 9 YO gangrape victim girl has publicly given her consent to use their pictures on SM, will you please restore
@RahulGandhi
,
@INCIndia
and all Congress leaders & volunteers’ accounts immediately?
Daro Mat, Rahul Ji tumhare liye bhi ladenge.
Hey @Twitter,
Now that the mother of 9 YO gangrape victim girl has publicly given her consent to use their pictures on SM, will you please restore @RahulGandhi , @INCIndia and all Congress leaders & volunteers' accounts immediately?
Daro Mat, Rahul Ji tumhare liye bhi ladenge. pic.twitter.com/dUykW2B1bG
— Ankit Mayank #RG's बब्बर शेर (@mr_mayank) August 13, 2021
The eerie truth is justice could be denied because the little girl was cremated to burn up evidence of her rape and murder and the Delhi Police it is learned are already putting pressure on the girl’s family to pull back the case. Rahul Gandhi’s visit highlighted the plight of the parents and will help to give them the coverage and support they need, which can open the gates to justice. Remember Nirbhaya? It took years and years, and even with evidence of rape, it was just the mother’s fight that gave the justice. Our 9-year-old needs it because if it is subverted, many more little girls will be raped, killed, and burned to hide evidence. Now, it is not just her, she represents millions of little girls and it is crucial she gets justice to save the other children!