The murder of a teenage girl, Ankita Bhandari, working at a Uttarakhand resort owned by a politician’s son, follows a pattern now familiar in the country. The 19-year-old girl, working as a receptionist, was allegedly killed for refusing to offer ‘’special services’’ to guests. The police have arrested Pulkit Arya, resort owner and son of former Uttarakhand minister Vinod Arya, and some others, for the murder. The BJP removed Vinod Arya and a brother of Pulkit Arya from the party after people protested against the murder. But there are questions about whether the girl’s family, which had to send her to work even though she wanted to study, will get justice.
A similar script has played out in the past. Vulnerable girls get employed by politicians or politically powerful people, forced to do wrong or illegal things and are killed or otherwise harmed. There are motions of action by the party, like the expulsion of the father of the accused in this case. But very often, politicians escape because of legal loopholes or the government’s callousness. Union minister Ajay Mishra, whose son fired at a group of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri and killed four of them, continues to be a minister in the union cabinet. It was after widespread protests that cases were registered against the MLA involved in the infamous Unnao rape case in UP in 2017. There are many other cases in which politicians, policemen and others in the power hierarchy protect those who belong to their class and clan, and victims of their crimes and misdeeds fail to get justice.
The Dehradun district administration, reportedly on orders from the government, demolished a portion of the resort which included the reception area and the girl’s room, terming them as “illegal construction.” This has been seen as an attempt to destroy evidence. The question why the demolition was done in such a hurry when the case was under investigation needs an answer. Demolition is a standard practice now resorted to in BJP-ruled states for various purposes. it violates due process of law and procedure. There is much talk in the country about the safety of women, and governments make declarations of their commitment to their safety and well being. But sexual harassment is widely prevalent and most women suffer in silence, fearing the consequences. Ankita Bhandari’s case is the rare one that got attention for some reasons. Women should fight such harassment and society should support them till gender-friendly workplaces become the norm.