Solution to fear

D N Singh After the bloody phase of communal conflagration in Kandhamal, now, there is a raging debate over the alleged rape of a nun in Kandhamal who is still incommunicado. In addition, the conflicting reports about her whereabouts threw up questions as why she has preferred to be untraceable despite strong assurances from the state Home Ministry to provide her with every possible security and punish the culprit who is already in police custody. The victim is nowhere to be found while the police is scouting for her right from Delhi to Kerala. Meanwhile, the media has given unprecedented attention to her alleged rape, hitherto not given to any other woman of this state. Her father`s reported statement in a newspaper that `she never mentioned about the alleged rape when she talked to her parents a day after the ugly incident` added to the puzzle. Even a Christian faction based in Bhubaneswar confided to this writer that they had only heard about an alleged molestation of the lady but no rape. However, now that the alleged rapist has been apprehended, she should realise the urgency of the situation and legal implications of the case and cooperate. Now the question is that why atrocities of this nature against nuns are so hyped while the cases women engaged in our sevashrams or ashrams or even the ones drawn from the common strata do not get attention, when subjected to beastly outrages in broad daylight! What fear stops the Orissa government from calling a spade a spade? If a million voices can be heard shouting abuses against outfits like Bajrang Dal or VHP for their alleged involvement in the communal flare-up in Kandhamal, what would be wrong to say that, the four persons detained by the police two days after the Aug 23 killing were from the minority community (although one never knows what happened to them)? The three arrested on Oct 3 also in connection with the Swami`s killings are Christians by religion. Why do we shirk from branding them as suspect criminals while we take no time in dubbing others as rapacious fundamentalists and herding them behind bars. Even the one who is alleged to have outraged the modesty of the nun, on Aug 25, whether he is a Hindu or a tribal needs to be proclaimed loudly and law should take its own course. Why then this fresh plea of giving the whole thing a naxalite twist by an allegedly orchestrated interview of a naxal outfit leader who volunteered to claim responsibility for the killing of Swami Lakshamanand Saraswati on Aug.23.08 43 days after the incident! The whole mix of events has led to a state where the possibility of a clear outcome seems to have fallen in total disarray. Now that the strife-torn district is free from any violent incident for the last ten days almost, it is time for all concerned to restrain their rhetoric. Be it the alleged tricks or tactics of surreptitious proselytisation by exploiting the vulnerable or the alleged unleashing of terror tactics by fundamentalist groups, only an atmosphere of parity could provide a conducive climate for the right probe and restoration of peace. It cannot be conducted under a shadow of fear.