Protests in Bihar Demanding for Justice in Muzaffarpur Rape and Murder Case

On August 12, a 14-year-old Dalit girl was raped and murdered in Bihar's Muzaffarpur. The criminal inaction and silence of the BJP-JD(U) government in this case have sparked widespread protests by CPI(ML), AIPWA, and Insaf Manch, as battle rages across the country for gender justice and an end to violence against women.

Statewide protests were held on August 18 in multiple places, including Patna, Samastipur, Gaya, Ara, Biharsharif, Begusarai, Masaurhi, Punpun, Sasaram, Siwan, Nawada, Khagaria, and Vaishali. In Patna, a demonstration led by AIPWA General Secretary Meena Tiwari, MLC Shashi Yadav, AIPWA State Secretary Anita Sinha, Rakhi Mehta, and Nasreen Bana was concluded in a mass meeting at Buddha Smriti Park.

Meena Tiwari, General Secretary AIPWA, criticized the double standards of BJP and JD(U), noting their vocal responses to similar incidents elsewhere but their lack of action in Muzaffarpur. She pointed out that the local administration has been neglectful, with no support or compensation announced for the victim's family.

On August 16, a CPIML-AIPWA fact-finding team visited the place of the incident and talked to relatives of the victim. They informed that despite brutal murder and injury marks all over the victim's body, the police administration is claiming she was in touch with the accused in the case.

Shashi Yadav, MLC and Central Committee member of CPIML, condemning the state's insensitivity and inaction, said that the administration and police are trying to blame the victim to cover up their negligence. Demanding justice and immediate action, she said that a high-level judicial inquiry must be conducted in the case to ensure justice.

Key demands included the immediate arrest of the perpetrators, an end to the victim-blaming culture, and a compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs and protection for the victim's family. The protest underscores growing people's outrage and demands for justice in the face of ongoing issues of violence against women and inaction by authorities.