Former Karnataka DGP, H.T. Sangliana rightly finds himself mired in controversy after making a shocking remark about the physical appearance of Nirbhaya, a gangrape victim, and her mother. At an award ceremony to honour women, the ex top cop said: “I see Nirbhaya’s mother, she has such a good physique. I can just imagine how beautiful Nirbhaya must have been.”
Moreover, his safety tips also left the audience feeling utterly perplexed. He reportedly said, “If you are overpowered, you should surrender, and follow up the case later. That way we can be safe, save a life, prevent being killed.”
His statement has irked several bureaucrats to such an extent that a senior officer, choosing to remain anonymous, says, “These comments on Nirbhaya’s mother and Nirbhaya by an ex-DGP attracts legal action for making sexually coloured remarks as per section 354 (a) IPC. This psyche of ‘if you cannot prevent the rape then enjoy it’ is intolerable.”
Shikha Goel, Inspector General of Police (IGP), CID, now posted as Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime & SIT), Hyderabad, says, “Any crime against women is a serious matter and someone trying to trivialise it is highly condemnable and I see no reason why any women should undergo such trauma and not report the crime. Such comments cause so much trauma not only to victims but to their families too.”
“Shockingly inappropriate!” quips Damodar Gautam Sawang, Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada. Moreover, watering the seeds of misogyny, such comments are becoming something of an epidemic, and they need to be addressed urgently. “There is something fundamentally wrong here,” he adds.
IGP Soumya Mishra also says, “Shockingly insensitive and absolutely unbecoming! Wonder what law enforcement such an officer could have done.”
