Beti Bachao: From Nirbhaya gangrape to JNU student molestation, 10 spine chilling atrocities against women in India

Beti Bachao

Violence against women has become a prominent topic of discussion in India in recent years. Politicians and media have placed great focus on the burning issue due to the ever increasing cases that have created a deep sense of insecurity especially since 2008. Crimes against women have more than doubled over the past 10 years, according to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). As many as 2.24 million crimes against women were reported over the past decade: 26 crimes against women are reported every hour, or one complaint every two minutes, reveals an IndiaSpend analysis based on the last decade’s data. The semantic meaning of ‘crime against women’ is direct or indirect physical or mental cruelty to women. Crimes directed specifically against women and in which only women are victims are characterised as ‘crimes against women’. Sexual harassment and child abuse is definitely a cause for concern in India. However, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme was started on January 22, 2015 as a joint initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Ministry of Human Resource Development under coordinated and convergent efforts to empower the girl child. 10 of the biggest cases that shook the nation:

Nirbhaya Gangrape, 2012

Nirbhaya Gangrape, 2012: In 2012, the nation was shaken up by the news of a dastardly gang rape of a 23-year-old 'Nirbhaya' in a moving bus in the national capital. Late on a Sunday night on December 16, 2012, the physiotherapy intern was returning with her friend from a screening of the film Life of Pi at Saket. There were six others in the bus, including the driver, all of whom raped the woman and beat her friend. The case brought about a lot of public outrage as thousands of people spontaneously took to the streets of Delhi, especially the Rashtrapati Bhawan and India Gate to protest against the gang rape and demand for justice and safety and security of women. One of the accused was treated as a minor as he was under 18 and was given a sentence of three years in a reform facility, the main accused Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide while in Tihar Jail in March 2013 and the remaining four accused were sentenced to death by hanging on May 5, 2017.

Shakti Mills gang-rape, July-August, 2013

Shakti Mills gang-rape, July-August, 2013: The incident that took place in an abandoned mill in Central Mumbai sparked widespread anger. A 22-year-old photojournalist and her male colleague were attacked and she was raped by five men, including a minor, on August 22. The accused threatened that her photos would be posted online if she complained. An 18-year-old alleged being raped in the same premises on July 13. Three of five men who were convicted – Vijay Jadhav, Qasim Sheikh and Salim Ansari – were held guilty of both the crimes and sentenced to death. Two other accused were minors who were tried and sentenced to three years in a juvenile detention facility by the Juvenile Justice Court in Mumbai.

Preeti Rathi Acid Attack, 2013

Preeti Rathi Acid Attack, 2013: In May 2013, 23-year-old nurse Preeti Rathi's neighbour Ankur Panwar threw sulphuric acid on her just after she arrived in Mumbai on May 2, 2013 to join the Indian Navy as a nurse. She died of multiple organ failure at Bombay Hospital a month later. Panwar attacked her after she rejected his marriage proposal and was also jealous of her success. In a landmark judgement, special women’s court judge AS Shende sentenced 25-year-old Ankur Panwar to death for a fatal acid attack on Preeti. This is the first instance of a convict in India being sentenced to death for an acid attack. India is also only the second country, after Bangladesh, to have done so. Under Bangladesh’s Acid Crime Suppression Act, attackers can be sentenced to death.

Rohtak Gangrape , 2017

Rohtak Gangrape , 2017: In a shocking incident, a girl was brutally gang-raped and murdered by her alleged lover after she refused to marry him. The mutilated body of the girl was found in an empty plot in Rohtak. The incident is said to have occurred on May 9. An initial investigation showed that sharp-edged objects were inserted into her private parts while her head was smashed. According to the forensic team, the victim was tortured and her body was mutilated after the gang rape. About seven people had raped her as per the investigation. Her skull was smashed in a way which indicates that she was run over by a vehicle in order to hide her identity.

Banglore Molestation case, 2017

Banglore Molestation case, 2017: Amid national outrage over several women being molested in full public view on New Year’s Eve in midtown here, another case of a woman being groped and assaulted by two scooter-borne men near her home has emerged with the shocking incident caught on camera. The video footage shows two men accost a woman on a scooter, race past her and take a U-turn, only to park the vehicle next to her, after which one of them jumps off and gropes her before escaping, even as bystanders watch without coming to her help. In the video footage caught on the CCTV of a residential building, one of the two men was first seen approaching the woman and forcing himself on her and dragging her to the scooter while the other person is seated on it, before pinning her down. As the victim resists and tries to free herself from the clutches of the culprit, he pushes her down on the road and both escape from the scene, but not before the victim slaps the one who had grabbed her. A resident with the CCTV footage brought the incident to the notice of police, said to have taken place around 2.30 AM on January 1.

Nagpur techie killed after gang rape, 2017

Nagpur techie killed after gang rape, 2017: A 22-year-old woman from Nagpur was killed in Ambernath in Maharashtra after being gang raped allegedly by two of her friends. The accused later packed the body of the IT engineer in a suitcase and dumped it near Belgaum in the neighbouring Karnataka. Both the accused, identified as Nikhilesh Patil (24) and Akshay Valode (25), surrendered before Ratnagiri police and confessed to the crime. They were arrested under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Karnataka: 15-yr-old girl raped in bus

A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by two drivers and a conductor in a bus near Salem. The three men were arrested after some locals in the village heard the cries of the girl and alerted the police. Manivannan and Murugan, who usually take turns to drive the bus, and conductor Perumal had pacified and befriended her. Later, the three men allegedly raped the girl at night. A total of nine sections including those from the IPC, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, have been invoked against the accused.

JNU student molestated at Asola Wildlife Sanctuary, 2017:

JNU student molestated at Asola Wildlife Sanctuary, 2017: A Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student was allegedly molested and her six male friends were assaulted by a group of more than half-a-dozen men in Faridabad. The 27-year-old student and her friends, who were on a fun trip, were reportedly held hostage at a lake in Asola Wildlife Sanctuary in Surajkund area on August 14. On August 15, the Vasant Kunj (North) police had registered a Zero FIR in the case and then transferred it to Faridabad police through Surajkund police station.

Rampur molestation:

Rampur molestation: Unfazed by UP CM Adityanath’s repeated warnings, a group of men molested a woman and filmed the act in a forest area near Tanda district. The miscreants uploaded the video on internet. The video went viral which created outrage. The police have arrested the main accused and constituted a team of police officials to nab others. The video clip showed 14 men molesting a woman near a forest area close to Tanda town. The police said the men themselves shot the video and uploaded it on the social media which was aired by some television channels

6-year-old gang raped in school, 2017

6-year-old gang raped in school, 2017: A class two student was tied to a table in a classroom and gang raped in Rajasthan. The incident came to surface after the victim complained of severe pain in her stomach and private parts. Police was informed after doctors of a local hospital in Rajasthan’s Barmer suspected sexual assault. The girl narrated her ordeal to her mother. The minor told her mother that she was tied to a table in a room near the school toilet and gang raped. The Barmer police have lodged a complaint on the basis of the victim’s father’s statement.