BHUBANESWAR: Under attack from the Opposition for her inquiry report, State Commission for Women (SCW) chairperson Jyoti Panigrahy on Sunday said there is no point politicising the Pipili gangrape case by “misinterpreting” it.“I stick to what I wrote in the report. There was no mention of sexual assault in the complaint by the relatives of the victim and that’s what I said,” she said. Panigrahy said her report was based on the supporting evidence and if the documents do not point at allegations of rape, there is no justification in making it an issue. “Thrusting the allegation of rape without being able to substantiate amounts to tarnishing the modesty of the victim,” she told this paper.In her report, Panigrahy had stated that she collected the photostat copy of the complaint and found that there was no allegation of sexual assault in it. The victim was found half-naked and in an unconscious state in a paddy field of Arjungada. A ligature mark of injury on the neck had been mentioned in the FIR, while the medical reports of the Capital Hospital and SCB Medical College and Hospital stated that injury in the neck was caused by partial hanging.The mention in Panigrahy’s report that “the allegation of sexual assault did not arise and even she was not given any kind of treatment to that assault till December 14” prompted the Opposition to seek her resignation.However, the SCW chairperson is unruffled by the demands saying she acted as head of the commission, and not as member of any political party. “My objective has been to ensure that the victim gets justice as well as best treatment. In our society, victims of sexual assault are not treated with dignity and therefore, no attempt should be made to thrust such a trauma on a girl without evidence and for political gains,” she said.The SCW chairperson said she is open to suggestions from women leaders.
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