Outrage After 19-Year-Old Gangraped, Murdered, Hanged On Tree In Gujarat's Modasa

A brutal Nirbhaya-like gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old in Gujarat’s Modasa has sparked massive outrage in the state. Several people, including celebrities took have posted angry messages on social media demanding justice for the young girl. A unverified CCTV footage has also gone viral that shows 4 burly men forcibly taking the girl inside the car and driving to a unknown location. The girl’s body was found hanging on a tree in Modasa On January 5. The rapists wanted it to look like a suicide, initial reports said. However, after intense protests by the local community, the administration and police swung into action. A post-mortem was conducted in Ahmedabad proved that the girl was gangraped and murdered later.

It was only on January 7 that the police finally registered a case. A case of kidnapping, gangrape and murder against four persons were filed under the provisions of the Indian Penal Coder and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Initially, when the family of the girl approached the police, the officials told them that the girl was safe. “She has eloped with a boy,” police inspector NL Rabari told the parents. He also told them that the girl will be brought to the family along with the marriage certificate. 

The girl had gone missing on December 31 and her body was found on January 5. “We have lodged the FIR on the basis of complaint given by the family of the deceased. Our investigation is under way,” Gandhinagar range Inspector-General Mayanksinh Chavda was quoted as saying. Bollywood star Riteish Deshmukh was one of the celebrities who expressed anguish over the case. “A 19 year old was kidnapped, gangraped, murdered & hanged on a tree. Forget what religion she belonged to, forget what caste she belonged to.. just remember she was a young girl with an entire life of hope and aspirations ahead of her. Hang the culprits publicly,” Deshmukh said on Twitter.

The 2017 NCRB data has shown disturbing, upward trend of crime against women. As many as 3,59,849 cases of crime against women were registered across the country in 2017, continuing the upward trend for the third consecutive year, the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data released showed. In 2015, 3,29,243 cases of crimes against women were registered and 3,38,954 cases were registered in 2016. The cases categorised as crimes against women include murder, rape, dowry death, suicide abetment, acid attack, cruelty against women and kidnapping, etc.