The Guwahati rape case, in which five Meitei boys pursuing engineering courses in a technical university there were alleged to have gang-raped a Tripuri girl, also of the same university but senior to them, is getting more and more intriguing. Four of the boys are minors with not more than two and half months of experience of Guwahati city, making the matter even more sensitive. Since the case is still being investigated and no definite conclusion has been reached, it would be unfair, unjust and probably prejudicial, to anticipate too deep into the matter. I will therefore base my assessments on just what has already been published in the media, and not the least, the noisy and chaotic social media. I will also take into consideration the unwarranted and hasty verdicts pronounced by wokes of all hues, including woke-ish feminists amongst the Meitei community, eager to advertise their presumed political correctness, quixotically claiming their indictment of the alleged rapists were part of their self-criticism even when it was hurtful to the self and their own community.
I had also appealed on Facebook for all to exercise caution, for the charge was serious, and there seemed a lot of loose ends in the case profile, and plenty of information that do not add up. The plea was for the records to be made straight by proper police and medical investigation, so as to make the guilt of those implicated in the crime is established beyond any reasonable doubts before punishment was thought of. There were indeed too many reasonable doubts to be put to rest but I will not go into them again. In response to my post, stakeholder parties actually pursuing the case have taken the trouble to update me on the progress of the police investigation so far, but as I said I will not go too deep into them except for some of the information which have emerged which seem to confirm my presumptions made in the Facebook post.
Quite atrociously, the woke-ish horde in this controversy seemingly had no worries forsaking the fundamental legal principle of “Audi Alteram Partem” which is about hearing all sides before making any judgment. Again, these self-righteous, self-proclaimed champions of justice also seem totally unconcerned about the possibility that some (or even one) of those accused could actually be innocent, again setting aside another beautiful liberal legal principle that it is better for 10 criminals to escape unpunished than for even one innocent ending up punished. This principle is behind the framing laws of evidence which are essentially meant to facilitate catching the guilty, but only after ensuring strong safeguards are build within them so no innocent gets victimised. American author Harper Lee’s classic 1960 novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” which won the Pulitzer Prize, and has also been made into a popular Hollywood movie, dramatizes this principle in practice beautifully and touchingly. Those who have shown eagerness for media trial and verdict on what can easily shatter the lives of people can benefit from reading such literature.
My appeal, and that of so many others, was not at all about excusing the guilty, but about making sure all accused are indeed guilty before awarding them proportionate penalties. The father of one of these five accused also have said this too in no uncertain terms in a TV interview after the storm of social media trials broke out. In his words, he was willing that his son should be punished if guilty, but after his guilt has been established beyond reasonable doubts. Those who refuse to see logic in this appeal, it must be said also exhibits an utter lack of empathy. Had one of the accused been a nephew or a sibling, probably they too would have called for a fair legal investigation into the allegations to establish guilt first before going on a social media trial storm.
Of the many facts that have surfaced so far, other than the scenario depicted in social media, is that the supposed gang-rape happened on September 13, but a legal complaint against it was lodged with the police only on September 17. The complaint was also lodged by one of the male friends who came to the alleged girl victim’s rescue after the incident and not by the girl herself. It also seems this male friend was new in the circle and was genuinely looking for justice, but soon realised that the rest of the “rescuers” and the girl victim herself were not interested in legal justice but in demanding ransom money from the parents of the accused boys as a price for her not going to the police. Outraged, he then decided to go ahead and lodge the police complaint himself. But once an official complaint was lodged thus, it became the girl’s party’s turn to duck under the table to hide from the law. But as I earlier said when the table of the contention was not turned thus, the principle of Audi Alteram Partem must be adhered to. Maybe they those hiding from the law are just shy of the law which is why they want to avoid it, but the long arms of the law will surely catch up with them and get to hear what they have to say. The verdict that come after all sides have been heard and all evidences have been examined and assessed, should be what all agree as judicious.
Editor, Imphal Review of Arts and Politics and author
