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Anara's mother: I am not going to give up the fight
January 14, 2005
Jammu - The clouds of sleaze have cleared and the needle of suspicion has moved
from former Miss Jammu Anara Gupta to the Jammu and Kashmir police and the
media, which together ensured that her name became synonymous with sex and
scandal.
But "victory" has probably left a bitter aftertaste for the former beauty
queen, absolved of appearing in a porn CD by forensic experts in Hyderabad
after two months of notoriety during which she was seen on TV while in police
custody "confessing" to her crime.
She was arrested here Oct 24 but the first information report (FIR) was
registered only Nov 4. Against all norms, TV channels and print reporters were
allowed to interview her on her "sexual exploits". The shots were replayed
endlessly.
And now, when the Andhra Pradesh State Forensic Laboratory has declared that it
was not her at all in the CD, the state police seem to have gone into virtual
hiding, the government is maintaining a no-comment stance, and most political
parties have lapsed into complete silence.
As part of the effort to reclaim its reputation after weeks of not being able
to step out of their home in Jammu's congested wall city, Anara's family says
they will approach the Supreme Court.
"Anara will tell her story to the Supreme Court soon," said her younger brother
Kumar Sambhav, who had to bear the ignominy of watching the CD a day after she
was released on bail Nov 9 last year.
He had questioned his sister about her alleged role in the porn movie. She
denied it emphatically and told him to see it for himself to verify whether she
was indeed telling the truth.
Anara's mother Raj Rani told IANS determinedly: "I am not going to leave the
fight incomplete."
She would move the Supreme Court and approach the National Commission for Women
(NCW) and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to clear her family and her
daughter's name.
Indeed, the final word on the case, which has come to be a blot on the record
of the state police and put a question mark on media ethics, will come from the
Jammu and Kashmir High Court which had heard the case and had sent the CD to
Hyderabad for forensic examination.
On its part, the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed government, it is learnt, is embarrassed
about the role of the police and might hand over the investigation to the
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to bring out the truth.
The questions are many. Why did police arrest her? Why did they keep her in
custody for so many days without framing charges? And why was media allowed to
interview her?
The chief minister has parried all questions saying: "I don't want to say
anything."
Sources said the government wants a CBI probe to get to the "black sheep" in
the police responsible for the murky mess.
It might be too late for Anara, whose reputation has already been torn to
shreds though her dignity is intact as was evident the day after the forensic
report when she walked out of her home her head held high.
Whatever police officials might now say, people in Jammu at least have already
declared the police publicity hungry and the media guilty of sensationalism.
Said Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) leader Anita Thakur:
"The whole case against Anara Gupta is a disgrace to the entire community of
women, and the police must apologise for it.
"How can the police wash their hands off the issue now when it is proven that
things were mishandled from the very beginning?" asked Thakur.
Other activists echo her anger.
Said Kiran Kumari, a retired teacher: "Don't they (police officers) have
daughters at home? Don't they know that in our society such a stigma can be
more than death for a girl?"
"Even if the police had a case against her, why was it publicised in the manner
in which it was done? Is our media blind? Could it not see through the game of
the police?" she questioned.
Added college student Indu: "If the media plays such a role on such issues, how
can we trust it in other cases? It is unfortunate that the media has forgotten
its first lesson: to question."
Sobering comments from a city, stunned by the revelations in the case and
shamed by its treatment of Anara, whose landlord asked the family to look for
alternative accommodation. The police had even sought to remove her to a Nari
Niketan, a women's welfare centre.
Anara moved a petition in the high court Dec 6, retracting her statement made
in custody and slammed a suit of Rs.10 million against the state police.
The high court turned down a request by the government to shift the girl to
Nari Niketan. But she was not given permission to visit New Delhi and lodge her
complaint with the NCW and the NHRC.
The police and media need to come up with some answers. Then, maybe, the
healing process can finally begin.
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Anara
leaves sleaze behind, head held high
1-6-2005
Girl
in porn CD not Anara: Lab
1-5-2005
Anara
Gupta's family approaches NHRC
12-28-2004
Anara
case: NCW asks Home Minister to ensure "proper probe"
12-27-2004
Jammu
'porn queen' sues police
12-9-2004
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