Political Exploitation or Justice? Abhaya’s Mother’s Entry into Election Sparking Turmoil in Justice Movement

Kolkata — Before reacting on Abhaya’s Mom decision on contesting election from Panihati West Bengal aggressively (“রে রে করে”), please first check whose post the picture actually is.

See how the so-called “Hindu warriors” of the BJP—who claim to be Hindu but act against the very principles of the religion—have turned this into a vote business. Their main attraction has become Abhaya. To forcefully expand into West Bengal, they are using and “selling” that night’s image of Abhaya on social media for election प्रचार.

Those of us who have been part of the Abhaya movement for the past one and a half years could never even imagine that day—so even today, we blurred the image before sharing it. Just like how, through false promises, BJP has taken away the helpless parents from a mass movement and used them for votes. Going door to door, they are selling people’s emotions and tears—using a bereaved mother’s grief to expand their dominance. And that grieving mother has been drawn into that trap.

The same mother whom the world once respected as their own is now being used to insult that very humanity. The people who stood day and night—through storms, heat, rain, and cold—demanding justice for her daughter, protesting the brutal killing of a working woman, have now been separated from those parents through political manipulation.

We had protected that mother, tried to comfort her so she wouldn’t break down remembering her daughter. Now seeing her weakened, wandering under the harsh sun—it’s hard to accept. I feel like running to her, holding her, and saying again:

“Kakima, we must keep fighting together. Just like we wanted—we will break the system and snatch justice for Abhaya. We must continue this fight and make it even stronger.”

But now, even if I want to, I cannot allow Abhaya to lose just to let BJP win. I stand in the fight for Abhaya’s justice.

From beginning to end, there are only two sides:

Those who want justice for Abhaya—punishment for all who raped, killed, burned her, and destroyed evidence.

Those who want to protect those criminals and let Abhaya lose—essentially siding with the rapists.

In the second camp, responsibility lies with the system itself—state police, leaders, as well as central agencies like the CBI and their leadership. Just as the state police suppressed evidence early on to block investigation, similarly the CBI at the center suppressed the remaining evidence. Even after the parents repeatedly went to Delhi, justice was reduced to a mockery. If there was no internal “setting,” then even after 20 months, someone like Sandip Ghosh wouldn’t just be in a token jail situation. Despite permissions, the CBI couldn’t even file a charge sheet in 20 months.

Why? Because exposing one would expose others too. Corruption and political ties on both sides are intertwined.

In all these 20 months of protest, we never shared or even wanted to see the horrific image of Abhaya from that night. Just imagining what she went through is unbearable. I have protested every single day. A few days ago, I shared a video showing how the state police tried to secretly take away her body at night to destroy evidence—so people don’t forget. That video was even covered by ABP Ananda. It showed no image of her face—only the attempt to remove evidence and the protestors trying to stop it.

Yet I received threatening calls, saying I reminded people of that painful night and tried to break the “setting.” Later, I received messages too—though I won’t reveal who sent them.

So my question is this:
Today, BJP is openly using her face for votes—selling Abhaya every day in election campaigns. What is the reaction of those grieving parents to this? Since it’s their own party, will there be no case or punishment for such actions?

Whether people accept it or not, those who stood for 20 months demanding justice never did politics—in fact, they protected Abhaya from being politicized. She was never allowed to be placed under any party flag.

And now, those BJP supporters who never stood even a single day in protest are suddenly using movement videos and even stealing protest songs for election campaigning.

One final question: Is BJP seeking justice for Abhaya—or using Abhaya for votes?

Written by Debmalya Bhattacharyya, Director Abhaya Rape Free India movement