Aizawl: The start of court proceedings on March 14 in a rape case saw a sit-in demonstration organised in Vanapa Hall in Aizawl, with people demanding justice for the victim and the maximum possible punishment for the perpetrator.
“On 28.02.2022, Ronia was sexually abused and threatened to be killed. The accused is Suresh Chand Meena, a resident of Dausa, Rajasthan. He works as a primary school teacher in Kendriya Vidyalaya School (KVS), Tanhril, Aizawl,” said a flyer distributed during the demonstration.
“The 28th of February was the last day of work for my sister, who was working as a contract teacher in Kendriya Vidyalaya school. The staff organised a welfare program for her,” Shraddha Pun, the sister of the alleged rape victim, who has been given the pseudonym ‘Ronia’ by well-wishers and friends, told EastMojo.
Recalling the incident, Pun said, “The accused is a primary teacher in KVS school so on this date the accused asked my sister saying, ‘Let’s go out, I am not familiar with the city can you please help me see around Aizawl location?’ And my sister is a very helpful person, and she said yes, ‘Why not, you are a new person here, you don’t know the place and I can help you’.”
“When they reached Zarkawt (a central area in Aizawl city) she told him this is the main city area, but he said I am familiar with this place. I want to go to a place, with a nice view, on the city’s outskirts. Since our locality, Armed Veng South is close to Falkland park (a recreation park on the outskirts of Aizawl), my sister was familiar with this place and recommended it to him, saying they have a go-kart and snooker. But when they reached the place, he took her further to a secluded area and forced himself on her. Then, he picked up a stone with the intent to kill her, but my sister tried to dissuade him, saying people would look for him if he kills her as they all know she went out with him. She pleaded with him to spare her life, saying she would not talk about it to anyone, and he can go on with his life.”
As soon as they returned to Ronia’s locality, she alerted her friends in Mizo as he was not aware of the local language, and the police captured him.
“He did a monstrous thing, and my sister is currently under mental pressure, she is fighting depression. We are scared that she might have suicidal thoughts. My sister is a weak person. She is barely surviving on one kidney, and she has undergone five major surgeries. This can happen to anyone, but it happened to our sister, who is already barely surviving so we are not happy about it. We are so sad, and we are so angry. Today, I organised this demonstration because we want to make a voice so that this thing doesn’t happen to anyone else or any other victim,” said Pun.
Friends of the victim and NGOs came together for the sit-in demonstration, which included around 400 people. One of the NGOs present at the demonstration was the People’s Union for Justice Mizoram (PUJM). Kawlrinpuii, the Vice President of PUJM spoke to EastMojo on their legal demands, saying, “They are taking the accused to the court today, and we came to know that he is seeking bail, we do not allow the bail, and we will not permit it. In front of the law, we are all equal. Even people accused of doing evil acts can be bailed before they are proven guilty. At the same time, this citizen from Rajasthan is not from Mizoram, and if he is given bail, he will go back to Central India and live freely. He might even go to foreign countries. We are strongly against his intentions not only to rape but to kill, and we condemn his actions. If our magistrate gives him bail, we, the women will surround the central jail, and we will not allow him to get out of Mizoram.”
Following the incident, Pun told this correspondent that her family has had to go through further turmoil due to victim-blaming incidents in social media and an attempt from the school to ask them to agree without taking the case further.
“Victim-blaming happened. If you see in social media, there are lots of comments where people said that maybe the girl is wearing some kind of revealing dress or maybe the girl’s character is good. She is not that kind of a person, she is so unhealthy. She is 22 years old but she is not even 40 kilos. You can imagine how unhealthy she is. Even if any girl is roaming around with guys, if any girl is wearing a revealing dress, doesn’t mean you have the right to rape them. That doesn’t mean that you have the right to touch them without permission. When you say, it should be no. No means no, that’s it.”
On the school’s reaction to the alleged incident, she said, “We have not received any statement from the school. Some locals from Tanhril and a few school teachers came to our house on March 1 and said this kind of incident involves the school name and will also bring a bad name to the girl (victim). Is there a way to come to an agreement?”
KVS school has suspended the teacher, but the protestors are demanding that his service be terminated.
On Kendriya Vidyalaya’s official website, Suresh Chand Meena continues to be listed as one of the primary teachers, with his date of joining marked as March 5, 2020. When asked for comments, the Principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya School, Tanhril, Mohammad Rashid, told EastMojo, “We don’t have anything to say from our side, it’s a private matter for the teachers. Nothing official available here.”
When asked about possible termination of service for the accused, Rashid said, “As soon as he is out of bail or something like that, a departmental enquiry will be constituted against him.”
He told EastMojo he was not aware of any teachers visiting the alleged victim’s house seeking to come to an agreement.
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