The rape and murder of three girls aged 11, 8 and 6 in Bhandara, Maharashtra, are appalling (“Outrage in Bhandara,” Feb. 28). The gruesome and horrible incident has not evoked the sympathy and the giant wave of protest that the recent gang rape of a young woman in Delhi did. Since the victims belong to the backward sections, they seem to be dispensable. There cannot be different yardsticks for different people. On the one hand, the government provides reservation to the backward classes and, on the other, turns a blind eye to the atrocities committed on them by the male-dominated, caste-ridden society. This dichotomy is to be addressed sooner than later.
A. Michael Dhanaraj,
Coimbatore
The incident is a blot on society. The Delhi incident, the Verma Committee recommendations, and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2013, which seeks to provide for harsher punishment for crimes against women, have failed to convey the intended message to the perpetrators of such crimes. We need to convey the message loud and clear in people’s language, not through technocratic legislation.
Praveen Thallapelli,
Gandhinagar
Since the Delhi bus gang rape, many rape cases have been reported. Rapists have, in some instances, brutally killed the victims to wipe out evidence. The threat of capital punishment has not deterred the perpetrators of rape.
M. Somasekhar Prasad,
Badvel
