Outlook English - Print Subscribers Copy Outlook English, 30 July 2018 | Page 11

compensation being sanctioned. In provides legal aid to victims, says the
fact, the government has paid only 34 scheme won’t work with the current
per cent of the victims since the scheme rules and regulations. “There is not a
single case in which the victims got the
was launched.
Last year, the government was rapped entire amount. There is no defined cri­
by the court when a new clause was teria on the basis of which the victims
int­roduced to the scheme, allowing for are being paid,” she says.
recovery of the money paid to a victim
in case of any factual mistake in the
HE scheme is rife with allegations of
complaint, or if the claimant turns
poor implementation and selective
hostile in court. Property belonging to
disbursal of compensation. Activists
the victims, or their parents or husband,
cite the case of a girl, aged four, who
would be seized to retrieve the money was raped by two men in January-
if they failed to return the amount. February 2018. The suspects are a
Activists allege this will deter the poor­ 25-year-old bar waiter, who was the
est and most vulnerable of victims from girl’s neighbour in a poor locality in
seeking compensation.
Mumbai’s Santacruz area,
The compensation amo­ Since the
and a 52-year-old wander­
unt, too, was revised to
ing cigarette-seller. Her
Rs 10 lakh for a survivor ­Manodhairya
mother caught the waiter
who is “mentally ret­
ar­ Yojana was
red-handed after her
ded”, “traumatised” and launched, the
nine-year-old son infor­
“incurs permanent disabil­ government
med that he had been
ity” due to the ass­ault, or
taking his sister to a dingy
has paid only
suffered grievous physical
room of the bar close to
wounds due to gang-rape. 34 per cent of
their hut. The accused
An equal amount was also the victims.
was turned in, but the girl
promised to the family
disappeared one February
of a woman or a child, irrespective of afternoon. She was traced to a shanty a
gender, if the victim dies. In other cases, little away from her hut. The ciga­
the amount will be Rs 3 lakh. Half the rette-seller had lured her there and
money is to be paid after the FIR is raped her. “FIRs were filed in both cases
lodged, and the rest after pol­ice file the and medical examination confirmed
chargesheet. In the Bengal family’s case, rape, but the family got no compensa­
the FIR was filed in March 2016 and tion,” D’Mello alleges.
a man in his 30s was arrested when
There are many such instances of
neighbours found the sobbing child in people not getting the due amount. Who
his hut. The girl’s medical examination decides how much money is to be given
confirmed she was raped.
and how are such decisions taken? A
According to another new rule, 75 per 15-year-old was raped multiple times
cent of the compensation will be locked allegedly by a cousin, a cabbie registered
in a 10-year fixed deposit (20 for chil­ with an app-based taxi service. One day
dren). Petitioners challenging the she told her mother about it. Soon the
changes in the Bombay High Court have girl’s nude photos and videos started
sought to know how helpful that would doing the rounds in the neighbourhood.
be for survivors in urgent need of money
Her father, a restaurant waiter, filed a
for immediate expe