‘Two teenage girls were raped, murdered and left hanging from a mango tree recently in the case which has shocked India.

Pappu, Awadhesh and Urvesh Yadav were arrested over the deaths of young cousins Murti and Pushpa. Now they have admitted raping and killing the two girls but two other suspects are still being sought by police. Residents of Katra village in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh now fear they could be targeted too. The case has prompted widespread outrage because the girls were targeted due to their low-caste status 

In addition to the three suspected murderers, two police officers have been arrested for allegedly ignoring the victims’ parents when they reported that the girls, aged 14 and 15, had gone missing. The girls’ murder has prompted protests in New Delhi and other Indian cities, in an echo of the outpouring of grief which came when a student was raped and killed on a bus in the capital in 2012. In their home village, poor locals described their worries that they would be vulnerable to a similar attack in the future. Murti and Pushpa disappeared on Tuesday night after going to a field near their home to relieve themselves, because they do not have their own toilet.  

Yesterday, his wife called for the killers to be executed, saying: ‘Money can’t bring back my daughter but the hanging of her killers would give peace to her soul.’ And Pushpa’s father Babu Ram accused the police of ignoring his family because they belong to the Dalit caste – formerly known as ‘untouchables’. He said: ‘At the police station, the first thing they asked is what caste we came from. And when we told them we were Dalits, they didn’t entertain our complaints.’ 

 Daily Mail report – 1 June 2014

Of course, this case and other similar ones is terrible. Unfortunately such barbarism is rife all over the world, especially in war zones. However abuse of women and children is also prevalent in supposedly ‘civilised’ countries. Nor are the vulnerable immune from celebrities, as we’ve seen recently with Rolf Harris and Jimmy Saville (and how many others one wonders?). My song here highlights this issue:

CODE OF SILENCE

She was just a poor young girl – never did no harm to no one.

But they took her off and carried out such violence.

And they did unspeakable things,

Then left her body hanging.

But no one dared to break the code of silence.

Someone’s brother, someone’s uncle,

someone’s cousin, someone’s friend,

It’s hard believing they were even there.

When you’ve known them all your life, maybe sisters and a wife,

But upon the code of silence, you’re bound to swear.

And it isn’t only one, any mother’s daughter or son,

Can easily become another victim

And to their eternal shame, powerful men avoid the blame,

Hiding behind the code of silence.

Is it in some distant land where civil war’s a-raging?

Where for the rule of law there is defiance?

No it’s in our own back yard – don’t have to look too hard,

But no one dares to break the code of silence.

No one dares to break the code of silence.