The issues of violence within the institution of marriage and infidelity as grounds for character assassination have come to the forefront in the aftermath of the dowry harassment case booked against BJP vice president Anil Hoble, his wife and son. Law of the land lays down that infidelity can be grounds for divorce. Dissolution of the contract of marriage, however, stands to harm political image. The BJP vice president Hoble has attempted to use the alleged infidelity of his daughter-in-law not only to garner sympathy for himself but also to assassinate the young woman’s character. Infidelity is not recognised as grounds for voluntarily causing hurt, cruelty towards the wife or for that matter, demanding or accepting dowry. We do not know what aim Hoble sought to achieve by washing his dirty linen in public as this will not aid the ongoing police investigation. The act of addressing the media armed with 94 pages of WhatsApp chat screenshots secured by invading the privacy of someone’s mobile phone can only be labelled as a political aim.rWhat’s more, Hoble denied injuring his daughter-in-law and has offered the most outlandish explanations for the injuries. That she may have deliberately banged herself on a wall and scratched herself in consonance with Adv Aires Rodrigues’ commands or that of her family (when the Hobles themselves admitted that the parents did not have a single private moment with their daughter), and inflicted injuries on herself to turn the glare away from her alleged affair is as bizarre an explanation as one can expect for a black eye on a swollen face, injuries on the neck and other parts of her body.rThe BJP vice president has also claimed that the GMC medical report could have been ‘fabricated’, a huge allegation against his own government.rThe mild IPC sections slapped on the three accused by sub-inspector Sandhya Gupta, who was once sacked in a corruption case, only add to the suspicion of political interference. Section 498A, 323, 506 (ii) read with 34 and Section 3 and 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act are anything but hand-picked to ensure that no arrest is affected.rWe are counting moments till the Director General of Goa Police takes note of the gross violation of procedure followed by Panaji Women’s Police while ‘rescuing’ the 30-year-old mother of two. The police team stood by and watched as the victim was driven to the police station by the three accused in the complete lack of a police escort. The Hobles have also announced that their daughter-in-law’s worth lies only in the fact that their young grandchildren need her. So much for progressive thought and feminism. But the question here is simple. Who is the victim?
