BRINGING THE GREAT INDIAN HONEY TRAP INTO THE LIGHT

In this episode of The Interview, documentary filmmaker Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj discusses how some women harass and extort men using the laws intended to shield them from sexual abuse. She demands changes that safeguard men from such mistreatment.

The time period “honey trap” become popularized with the aid of using John le Carré in his 1974 novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. During the Cold War, intelligence companies often deployed girls to ensnare senior navy officers, politicians and businessmen. They could then blackmail them into giving freely precious secrets. The femmes fatales hired with the aid of using those companies manifestly needed to be seductive and complex sufficient to attract precious records out of effective guys, commonly after organising a romantic dating with them. 

The Cold War can be a issue of the past, however the exercise of the usage of romance and intercourse as gear of extortion and blackmail remains flourishing the sector over. The #MeToo motion that began out as a refrain of feminist indignation mobilizing long-suppressed grievances has additionally been regularly deployed as a weapon to bludgeon guys into silence or, worse, milk them for all they may be really well worth. 

In India, Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj, a journalist and documentary filmmaker, has been warm at the path of duplicitous girls. Some of them paintings in groups, often blackmailing gullible adult males into parting with huge sums of cash after slumbering with them. Their sufferers are commonly married and maintain a first rate vicinity in society, making them clean goals for extortion.

Bhardwaj is thought for talking out in opposition to the rampant misuse of India’s gender legal guidelines, specially segment 376 of the 1860-antique Indian Penal Code (IPC) that addresses rape and sexual violence. Sections 489A and 354 address home abuse and sexual harassment respectively. The journalist observes, “Increasingly, guys in India are getting sufferers of systematic abuse via gender-biased legal guidelines. Laws in which their innocence doesn’t matter, in which they may be presumed responsible and in which an insignificant verbal accusation with the aid of using a female makes them a puppet withinside the palms of police and judiciary for years to come.”

Indeed, the information on gender-primarily based totally violence accumulated with the aid of using India’s National Crime Records Bureau could be very revealing. Of the 120,306 general arrests beneathneath segment 498A withinside the 12 months 2020, 96,497 had been guys and a whopping 23,809 of the arrested had been girls. There are growing reviews of girls who, after some years of marriage, report fake instances of home abuse withinside the hopes of triumphing huge settlements. Subsequently the own circle of relatives is summoned and pressured to settle the case with the aid of using paying huge quantities of cash. Up to 75% of instances are withdrawn as it emerges that the purported sufferers are exploiting the regulation. This can best compromise the credibility of proper survivors of abuse and home violence.

I spoke to Bhardwaj approximately a number of the maximum worrying instances she has come throughout, inclusive of that of the female who filed 9 rape instances in opposition to 9 special guys at 9 special police stations inside one 12 months — multi functional metropolis, Gurgaon. The journalist advised me approximately the guys who've devoted suicide due to disgrace when they had been falsely accused of rape. Bhardwaj additionally discovered the gaslighting and expert sabotage she skilled on the palms of many feminists. She has additionally shared her perspectives at the hotbutton subject matter of marital rape and measures that the authorities should enforce to cope with the misuse of biased gender legal guidelines.

The transcript has been edited for clarity.

Vikram Zutshi: You supply a angle on gender rights seldom visible withinside the media, highlighting each male and girl sufferers of fraud, abuse and extortion. What are a number of the maximum worrying and precise testimonies you've got got included?  

Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj: The maximum disheartening tale I actually have included up to now is that of the overdue Arvind Bharti, which I actually have included in my upcoming documentary, India’s Sons. Arvind become first pressured into marriage with the aid of using a female who threatened to report a rape case in opposition to him. He married her and concept lifestyles could be clean however she filed a fake dowry case in opposition to him inside a 12 months in their marriage. Arvind fought the ones instances for eight  years, studied regulation to shield himself well and whilst he gained the instances finally, he nonetheless needed to settle due to the fact the female wouldn’t allow him be. It become traumatizing for Arvind due to the fact he had a daughter too from this marriage. But he needed to surrender on his daughter due to his spouse’s regular cruelty. Eventually Arvind were given divorced and desired to transport on, however his estranged spouse stored defaming him anywhere he went — at his workplace and his observe centers.

She were given him thrown out of his process and finally were given him booked beneathneath a fake rape price upon getting him crushed up brutally and confining him for 3 days. Arvind become jailed for 15 days. This broke him deep inside. Eventually Arvind ended his lifestyles leaving a 26-web page suicide be aware detailing the torture he went via for decades, and writing approximately how the legal guidelines are extraordinarily favorable to girls. I  stated at the case, and stood together along with his own circle of relatives. Eventually, after numerous campaigns, the female become arrested for abetment of his suicide.

The maximum precise tale I actually have included is that of Ayushi Bhatia who filed 9 rape instances on 9 special guys at 9 special police stations inside one 12 months – multi functional metropolis, Gurgaon. I uncovered this girl, which finally caused her arrest for submitting fake instances, crook intimidation, extortion and blackmail. After that exposé, human beings from throughout India contacted me writing approximately girls who're submitting fake rape instances.

I uncovered every other such female, Sonia Keswani from Jabalpur, who has filed six rape instances in opposition to 5 special guys withinside the metropolis of Jabalpur over a span of six years. She filed a rape case on the primary guy she implicated, were given married to him after which filed dowry, home violence and rape instances in opposition to him again. After this, from 2021 to July 2022, she filed 4 extra rape instances in opposition to 4 different special guys. 

In each those instances, even as Ayushi and Sonia had been each married, they stored submitting rape instances on different guys, claiming they had been raped on a fake promise of marriage. In my opinion, those  instances spotlight how rape legal guidelines are being overtly misused in our u . s . a . today.

There are numerous instances I actually have delivered to mild regarding suicide with the aid of using guys when they had been falsly accused of raping a female. Some of those names consist of Awadhesh Yadav, Manoj Kumar, Arvind Bharti, Amit Kumar and Rahul Agarwal.

Zutshi: Your movie India’s Sons delves right into a weird story of deception and fraud set in Jaipur. Tell us approximately how the criminal device become misused with the aid of using its practitioners to entrap some of unwitting guys. 

Bhardwaj: India’s Sons is set the lives of guys who had been falsely accused of rape however then had been honorably acquitted with the aid of using the courtroom docket after years of trial. By then, their lives had been definitely destroyed with the aid of using the case. Justice Nivedita Anil Sharma from Delhi as soon as requested, “If the female who documents a rape case is right away referred to as a rape survivor, then why shouldn’t we name guys who're honorably acquitted in those instances after being falsely accused, as “Rape Case Survivors.” This is what paperwork the tag line of the documentary as well: The Tale of False Rape Case Survivors.

One of the instances mentioned withinside the documentary is that of a honeytrap racket busted in Jaipur with the aid of using the unique operations organization of Rajasthan Police. About forty four human beings inclusive of excessive courtroom docket lawyers, policemen,  dozen girls and others pretending to be reporters had been arrested for the duration of this phase. These human beings did a recce of excessive internet really well worth guys, specially folks that had been married. They despatched girls to entice them into sexual relationships, accumulated proof of those relationships after which threatened to sign in rape instances in opposition to those guys. They made approximately 3 million dollars, a whopping 24-25 crore rupees. This racket operated nonchalantly for approximately 3 years till it become busted.

I am in Jaipur proper now for the screening of my documentary movie and, even today, the anti-corruption bureau has arrested some policemen and advocates for extorting cash from a person accused of rape. In all such instances, the criminal device has taken as a right that regardless of the female states is gospel truth. No research is performed and, nearly always, even though it's far determined that the female has lodged instances falsely, she isn't punished. In the honeytrap racket, those girls casually modified their statements and grew to become antagonistic after receiving cash from the accused. The criminal device left out such doubtful moves and so did the regulation enforcement authorities.

Zutshi: Do you remember your self a feminist withinside the present day which means of the time period? How have India’s commonly hyper-vocal feminists answered in your paintings? 

Bhardwaj: Personally, I am not able to become aware of myself as a feminist withinside the manner that the time period is used withinside the present day era. More regularly than now no longer, hyper-vocal feminists have this innate hate for guys which I discover very annoying. For them, this complete global is in opposition to girls, and anybody who doesn’t talk their language is a misogynist.

Equal rights and possibilities for all is an certainly remarkable concept and, even today, there are girls and women who're deprived and want the guide from society to comprehend their genuine potential. Having stated that, lifestyles isn’t a cakewalk for each guy accessible either. They too have their personal struggles, challenges, and now even face discrimination specially due to one-sided legal guidelines that want to be addressed. But anybody speaking approximately guys unexpectedly will become an enemy of feminists.

There are many feminists who've attacked my paintings. One of them began out a petition to Netflix, whilst my documentary become released, to take it off the air. Another one wrote to the organizers of a TEDx communicate I become invited to, worrying now no longer to permit me to talk. In contrast, I actually have acquired status ovations at numerous events. Time and again, I get abused on social media with the aid of using feminist warriors who regularly describe me as a “select out me female”, “misogynist”, “traitor”, and lots worse terms, which I cannot point out here. However, it now no longer affects me . I can appropriately say that I actually have hundreds of girls assisting my paintings, and that they actively recognize the want for a person to talk up for those guys who also are suffering.

Zutshi: What do you observed of the proposed marital rape regulation this is presently a warm subject matter of discussion on social media? 

Bhardwaj: This is an in depth subject matter of discussion. I could ask  you to test out my video in this issue, which info my reservations at the proposed marital rape regulation.

To sum the video up, we have already got legal guidelines that cope with sexual abuse inside marriage. If the present day exception withinside the current rape legal guidelines had been to be removed, nearly each matrimonial dispute should bring about rape fees in opposition to the husband. We are already witnessing hundreds of unsubstantiated allegations of unnatural intercourse this is unlawful beneathneath segment 377 of the IPC. These instances will finally lead to settlements wherein the husband may be requested to shell out extensive sums of cash to store himself. Certain international locations have already instituted unique provisions in opposition to marital rape. Most of those international locations have a gender-impartial regulation, however in India, it might be rendered as but every other weapon withinside the palms of wives. 

Zutshi: In your opinion, what are the stairs that may be taken to cope with the misuse of segment 376 of the IPS on rape and sexual harassment? 

Bhardwaj: The courts must supply credence to truthful and unbiased investigations. They need to fee proof, now no longer mere verbal allegations made with the aid of using girls. This should pass a protracted manner in addressing the misuse of segment 376. Currently, the courts aren't punishing girls who misuse segment 376 to victimize guys. Judges want to penalize girls who make fake allegations of rape. Only then will the misuse cease.

In addition, I assume the lawmakers want to distinguish among instances of sexual attack and people that contain fake claims of a promise of marriage due to the fact they do now no longer belong to the equal category. Currently, all guys accused of a promise to marry are thrown into prison. Even if it later transpires that no promise of marriage become made and, consequently, the intercourse become consensual and now no longer rape, the accused has already extraordinarily suffered. The time in prison and the lack of popularity can regularly power such guys to suicide. The device isn't operating and need to change.