New Delhi, Jan 27: Like the case of Pakistan's gangrape victim Mukhtar Mai, a Group of Delhi and Mumbai-based filmmakers, academicians and human rights activists have announced to take up the case of daughter of Bant Singh, a Punjab dalit and subsequent assault on him that resulted in amputation of both of his arms and a leg to United Nations and other international fora.

United Nations and Pakistan have offered to jointly host the press meet of Mukhtar Mai at UNO headquaters, who was subjected to gang-rape at 'the orders of village council' in Pakistan and her defiant posture against the incident catapulted her as a 'champion of women's cause".

These activists united under the banner of 'Forum of Democratic Initiatives'(FDI) today presented Baljit Kaur before the media here where she narrated the shameful act of her gang-rape by sons of influential and rich landlords of her village, Burj Jhabbar, in Mansa district of Punjab in 2002. And refusing to succumb to temptations and threats by landlords, her father, Bant Singh took up her case to the law of the land and succeeded in getting the three accused sentenced to life imprisonment.

Reacting to that, the landlord engineered an attack on Bant on January 6 this year which resulted in amputation of both arms and a leg.

Bant Singh, whose case stirred strong protests and resentment among the dalits, Left and human rights activists, is still under treatment at PGI Chandigarh.

Talking to the mediapersons, 20-year Baljit Kaur with a six month baby in her lap and her husband accused the Punjab government of "utter indifference" to their plight as none of ruling congress party leaders had come to them so far... only Akali MP Parmajit Kaur had visited them at their house".

Briefing the press, the FDI representatives said the Bant Singh case manifested the scale of atrocities on dalits in Punjab, 85 per cent of them are farm labourers.

Demanding an independent inquiry into the incident, they alleged the state government was "shielding" the village's influential people involved in the attack and attempting to delink the gang-rape of Baljit Kaur and subsequent attack on her father Bant Singh.

The FDI has already made submissions to SC/ST Commission, NHRC, National Women Commission and pledged to take the matter to international fora including the Internatiopnal Court of Justice.

They also demanded that the Punjab government should rehabilitate Bant Singh by offering a job to his family members alongwith compensation of atleast Rs 10 lakh.

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[ZESTCaste] Assault on dalit seeking justice for raped daughter (News)

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