India's top police official was under fire Wednesday for saying, "If you can't prevent rape, you might as well enjoy it."
Central Bureau of Investigation chief Ranjit Sinha made the comment Tuesday during a conference about illegal sports betting and the need to legalize gambling. The CBI, the country's premier investigative agency, is India's equivalent of the FBI.
Sinha said that if the state could not stop gambling it could at least make some revenue by legalizing it. His remarks about rape were in this context.
The remarks have caused outrage across India, which in the past year has been roiled by widespread protests following the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a bus in New Delhi.
Sinha said Wednesday that his comments were taken out of context and were misinterpreted, but angry activists called for his resignation.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat said Sinha's comments were offensive to women everywhere.
"It is sickening that a man who is in charge of several rape investigations should use such an analogy," Karat told reporters. "He should be prosecuted for degrading and insulting women."
The New Delhi attack on the young woman last December caused nationwide outrage and forced the government to change rape laws and create fast-track courts for rape cases. New laws introduced after the attack make stalking, voyeurism and sexual harassment a crime. They also provide for the death penalty for repeat offenders or for rape attacks that lead to the victim's death.
据美国广播公司11月13日报道，印度中央调查局（Central Bureau of Investigation）局长兰吉特•辛哈12日称：“如果你无法阻止强奸的发生，不妨去享受它。”此言一出，便招致了全国上下的愤怒和谴责。
辛哈12日在出席一场有关“非法体育博彩和赌博合法化的必要性”的会议时说，如果不能阻止赌博，不如让它合法化获取税收收入，就像说“如果无法阻止强奸的发生，不妨去享受它”。
印度共产党领袖布林达•卡拉特（Brinda Karat）认为，辛哈的言论冒犯了广大女性。“作为一个负责调查数起强奸案的男子，使用这种比喻是令人恶心的。他应该为贬低和侮辱女性受到起诉。”
辛哈13日辩称，他的言论被断章取义了，而且遭到了曲解。但是，愤怒的活动人士要求他辞职。据了解，辛哈供职的印度中央调查局是印度的首要调查机构，类似于美国的联邦调查局（FBI）。
去年12月16日晚，新德里发生一起恶性轮奸 案，一名23岁的医学院女大学生在私人巴士上惨遭6名印度男子轮奸和毒打，后被抛出车外。因伤势过重，受害者人当月29日在新加坡伊丽莎白医院不治身亡。 印度当局此后出台了新的相关法律，将跟踪纠缠、窥阴癖和性骚扰定为一种罪行，对惯犯和强奸致死者判处死刑。