India's struggle against gender-based violence has been long and arduous, with deeply entrenched societal norms and administrative setbacks often obstructing the efforts for change. The recent rape-murder case of a 31-year-old Kolkata doctor on August 9 has emerged as a grim reminder of the pervasive sexual violence in the country. On one hand, while the nation is standing up against this atrocity, several more traumatising cases have been reported in the same month.
*Incidents not in a particular order
Two Army Trainees Attacked, Female Friend Gang-Raped In Madhya Pradesh
Two trainee Army officers were thrashed and one of their female friends was gangraped by unidentified men in Indore district, Madhya Pradesh, on September 11, according to the Press Trust of India. The incident reportedly happened at around 2 a.m. when the Armymen and two women were having a picnic in a forest.
One of the officers and a female friend were sitting inside a car when a group of six to seven men came there and started beating them up. Hearing the commotion, the other two friends, who were on a hilltop, arrived at the spot. The attackers then allegedly held the two seated in the car on gunpoint. Meanwhile, the attackers asked the other officer to arrange ₹10 lakh in ransom. The officer used this opportunity to inform his seniors in Mhow, who alerted the police.
A police team was dispatched to the area, but by then, the attackers had escaped. The survivors were admitted to Mhow Civil Hospital where the officials confirmed that one of the women was raped. So far, only two of the attackers have been nabbed. A case has reportedly been registered under sections 70 (gangrape), 310-2 (dacoity), 308-2 (extortion) and 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and under sections of the Arms Act.
Mother Sleeping Beside Ailing Son At Kolkata Hospital Molested
A 26-year-old woman in Kolkata was allegedly molested by a health worker when she was sleeping beside her ailing child at a government-run hospital. According to the complaint filed by the victim, the incident took place at the children’s ward of Kolkata’s Institute of Child Health (ICH) where her child was admitted and getting treatment, reported India Today.
The accused, Tanay Pal (26), has been sent to police custody. The complaint states that he entered the children’s ward and allegedly inappropriately touched and molested the child’s mother. Pal also recorded the incident on mobile, the complaint added.
Assam 15YO Arrested For Attempting Rape On 3YO Girl
A 15-year-old boy was apprehended on September 2 for allegedly trying to rape a 3-year-old girl in Assam's Karimganj district. The boy was caught at around 5 p.m. by locals as he was assaulting the girl in his neighbourhood under the guise of playing with her. The accused has been booked under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Superintendent of Police Partha Pratim Das told Hindustan Times that a case has been registered based on the complaint by the girl’s family. “Since the accused is a 15-year-old boy, it will be handled by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB). He will be produced before the JJB later in the day,” the officer said. The survivor is undergoing medical examinations and police investigations are underway.
“She (survivor) is too young to tell us about the crime, but we have recorded the statements of her family members,” SP Das said. The locals told the outlet “[The accused] is not an adult by age, but his intentions were criminal. Even after the incident, he claimed that the little girl had taken his money, and he was searching for it. We demand strict action so that he never repeats this."
Uttarakhand Nurse Raped, Murdered On Way Home From Work
Days before the Kolkata case came to light, a similarly bone-chilling crime happened to a Uttarakhand-based nurse on July 30. The woman was reported missing by her sister after she did not return home near the Uttar Pradesh border. Eight days later, on August 8th, the nurse’s body was discovered in a decomposed state in Bilaspur, Uttar Pradesh. The post-mortem confirmed that the woman was sexually assaulted and strangled to death.
Udham Singh Nagar police said that a suspect identified as Dharmendra from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, has been arrested. SSP Manjunath TC said, “Dharmendra admitted to the crime, stating that he had seen the woman alone on the road to Vasundhara Colony (Bilaspur). He dragged her into the bushes, attempted to assault her, and when she resisted, he smashed her head on the ground, raped her, and then strangled her with her scarf.”
However, the nurse's family has questioned this narrative and demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Her sister said, "The police’s story doesn’t add up. My sister’s body couldn’t have decomposed into a skeleton in just eight days. We believe some chemical was used on her body, possibly by someone with medical knowledge.”
Ratnagiri Auto Driver Attacks, Assaults Nursing Trainee
A 19-year-old nursing student was allegedly drugged and raped by an unidentified auto rickshaw driver in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, on August 27. Reports said that the woman was on her way home from work, 'appearing exhausted' when the driver offered her water which was allegedly laced with a sedative. The driver then allegedly took her to an isolated place and raped her and left her.
The survivor was found unconscious in a forest area of Champak ground. “She sustained serious multiple injuries. It is suspected that she was brutally raped,” local police said. The survivor was admitted to a civic hospital. Ratnagiri Superintendent of Police Dhananjay Kulkarni told the New Indian Express, “An SIT led by a woman police inspector has been formed.”
Uttarakhand Maulvi Held For Raping Minors In Madrasas For Months
A Maulvi who taught girls Urdu in a madrasa in Udham Singh Nagar has been accused of showing five minor students pornographic content and raping them for two months. The incident came to light on August 17 when a woman filed a complaint with the Kotwali police. The statements of the five girls have confirmed the crime. A team has reportedly been appointed to counsel every girl in the madrasa.
According to SSP Manjunath TC, “He used to sexually abuse children by scaring them with Jinn... He has built a madrasa illegally in the mosque. In which he used to teach Dini Urdu. Where the children of the village used to go to get Urdu education after school. After teaching for a few hours, he used to send the older children home and take the younger children to his room and molest them and show them pornographic videos."
Minor Girl Gang-Raped By 5 Men In Dehradun
The Uttarakhand police arrested five men, including two bus drivers, accused of gang-raping a 16-year-old girl on August 13. The incident reportedly occurred on a parked bus at Dehradun's ISBT bus station. SSP Dehradun, Ajay Singh told The New Indian Express, "The bus staff brought the minor girl from Delhi to Dehradun. Five men, including two bus drivers, a conductor, a cashier, and a sweeper, gang-raped her."
According to reports, the survivor was rescued by the Child Welfare Committee. The five arrested accused in the gang rape case are identified as Dharmendra Kumar, Rajpal, and Devendra (residents of Haridwar), Rajesh Kumar Sonkar (resident of Dehradun), and Ravi Kumar (resident of Farrukhabad). This is reportedly the third sex crime reported in Uttarakhand in a month.
Dalit Girl Raped, Murdered In Bihar
A Dalit minor girl was reportedly kidnapped, raped, and murdered in Bihar's Muzaffarpur on August 11. The girl was reportedly 14 years old. The incident caused massive outrage as villagers organised a protest and gheraod the police station to demand justice for the family. SSP Rakesh Kumar said the protestors have been arrested for clashing with police and resorting to violence.
According to reports, the police razed the property of the prime accused after he failed to surrender. The accused man, identified as Sanjay Rai according to the Times of India, had allegedly been pressuring the teenager's family into marriage. He has been on the run since the crime.
"We had pasted on the wall of Rai's house a court notice in which he had been asked to surrender by Saturday noon. Since he did not turn up, his property was attached. We have also launched a search operation and hope to arrest him soon", SSP Kumar said.
Assam Teen Gang-Raped By Three Men
A 14-year-old girl was brutally raped by three men in Assam's Nagaon when she was on the way home from tuition. She was found by locals in a semi-conscious state near the main road on the evening of August 22. The survivor has been in the Nagaon Medical College and Hospital for several days. Her father told Hindustan Times that she has been unable to talk after the traumatic incident. Protests have erupted across the State to demand accountability from the government.
One accused, 24-year-old Tafazul Islam was arrested within 24 hours of the crime, however, he escaped police custody and jumped into a pond where he was found dead on August 24, according to Nagaland Post. “The accused hit out at a policeman, escaped from police custody and jumped into the pond," Nagaon Superintendent of Police Swapneel Deka said.
The survivor reportedly lives with her grandparents and aunt in Dhing village, Nagaon. She is known as a bright girl in the village; her cousin told the Hindustan Times that she is the only girl in the village to attend an English medium school. The teen does not have a mobile phone and on the day of the crime, her grandmother started to get worried when she did not return home from tuitions after 6 p.m.
Bengaluru College Student Raped By Man Who Gave Her A Lift
A 21-year-old woman was allegedly raped by a biker who offered a lift to her on August 18 in Bengaluru, police said. The college student was reportedly hitchhiking home from an event at Hosur Main Road at around 1:15 am, when a two-wheeler driver, identified as 24-year-old Mukeswaran, offered to help. Instead of dropping her at her destination, he allegedly took her to an isolated place and raped her.
An HSR Layout police officer said that the woman raised an SOS on her phone, after which two of her friends arrived. Mukeswaran allegedly fled when the friends arrived but he was arrested on August 19, about 10 hours after the incident. The survivor was taken to a hospital, where doctors said that she was in stable condition.
63YO Tribal Woman Gang-Raped, Assaulted In Sirohi, Rajasthan
A 63-year-old tribal woman was reportedly gang-raped and robbed by two men near Abu Road in Sirohi, Rajasthan at around 1 a.m. on August 13. The FIR states that the accused men were intoxicated when they barged into her house where she was sleeping alone, physically assaulted her, raped her, and robbed about ₹30,000 from the house.
"They punched her in the face, causing her teeth to break, and then kicked her in the stomach," an officer at the Abu Road RIICO Police Station said. The accused were identified as Prabhu Garasia and Bharma. The former has been detained, while the police are on the lookout for Bharma.
/shethepeople/media/agency_attachments/iUYfaBbcMozaYLoGnoov.png)
/shethepeople/media/member_avatars/6PFAqAWygpdpsW9HJtjQ.png )
Follow Us/shethepeople/media/media_files/H2sz60uD51TEOKWP6nNa.jpg)