Accused of rape, reversed in court with 3 lakhs: This is happening in MP, because even if the case is false, the compensation amount is not returned

Rape cases are being registered in Madhya Pradesh for government compensation. Anyone would be surprised to hear this, but it is completely true. Actually, in MP, the state government gives a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the victim woman under the SC-ST Atrocity Act. For this compensation, such false rape cases are being registered. In Bhaskar’s investigation, surprising information has come to the fore about such cases, which we are sharing with you …

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Why did the talk of false rape case arise?
A woman from Sagar filed a case against a man for raping his daughter. The accused was arrested and sent to jail. When the trial of the case began, the Dalit woman confessed in the trial court, ‘In a simple quarrel, she had falsely filed a case against the accused for raping her minor daughter.’

When the matter reached the Jabalpur High Court, on 17 May 2022, the High Court not only granted bail to the accused, but also asked the trial court to return the compensation received from the state government to the rape victim.

Understand the math of compensation
The state government gives a compensation of Rs 4 lakh if ​​a woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste (SC) and a Scheduled Tribe (ST) is raped. One lakh is given on registration of FIR in the case and Rs 2 lakh is given on production of charge sheet in the court. That is, Rs 3 lakh is given even before the punishment.

If the accused is convicted, then one lakh more rupees are given to the victim. Even if there is no punishment, the compensation paid earlier is not demanded back. This provision is only for SC-ST category and not for others.

Statements change after compensation
Statistics show that 4 out of every 5 accused in rape cases registered under the SC-ST Atrocity Act are getting acquitted. That is, punishment occurs in only 20% of the cases, while the compensation received by the victim is divided in 100% of the cases. Government compensation is at the root of such a huge difference in the number of cases registered and punished.

If we understand this in detail, it is known that many rape victims turn away from their statement in the court as soon as they get a compensation of three lakh rupees. She takes compensation till the filing of FIR and chargesheet and tells in court that rape has not happened, or under pressure, she tells to register a case of rape.

490 crore compensation in six years
There is a provision of compensation in 47 categories in the Atrocity Act. In the last six years in MP, compensation of more than Rs 490 crore was distributed in 43 thousand 560 cases including all categories. During this, punishment was done only in 5 thousand 710 cases. Talking about rape cases alone, Rs 96 crore was helped in 5 thousand 225 cases, but punishment was done only in 21% of the cases. Last year, the average punishment was only 12%.

Rape FIR even in live-in case
Rajesh Gupta, ADG of the SC/ST Crime Branch at the Madhya Pradesh Police Headquarters, cites the example, saying that a man and a woman were living in a live-in in Jabalpur region. He also has two children. The woman told the police that the man has refused to marry, so a case of rape should be registered. On the complaint of the woman, the police had to register an FIR. When the law was changed in 2016, there was awareness among the people.

Cases for compensation do not happen in the entire state
In this case Praveen Ahirwar, member of the Madhya Pradesh Scheduled Caste Commission, says, ‘Compensation is necessary for the victim’s family. I don’t think incidents of implicating someone for compensation take place in the entire state. There are 99% such cases, in which people belonging to the Scheduled Castes are really harassed, humiliated, exploited. Even if such a case comes, the law punishes such people. We also condemn the misuse of the law.

Strong lobbying is not done by the government
Tribal leader and Congress MLA Hiralal Alava says that there is no strong plea in the court to present the side of tribal women. Secondly, after the enactment of Atrocity Act, the investigation process has been made so long that the victim woman is persuaded by coercion or allurement. That’s why there is no punishment in the case. Actually, the intention of the government is not to provide justice to the tribals.

Fewer crimes against SC-STs than population counts
There are 53 thousand villages in Madhya Pradesh. There is no FIR of ST-SC category in 45 thousand of these villages. Experts say that if you look at the crimes of ST-SC, then you also have to see that their population in the state is also more than other states. The crimes committed against them in the state are very less in proportion to their population.