According to a recent news report, a 15-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped repeatedly in Gurgaon. The father of the girl lodged a complaint that she was kidnapped and raped by five men who live in their area. Later, she was dumped at a secluded spot. The girl in her statement revealed that she asked two other men passing by in a car to drop her home, but instead, they also raped her and left her on the outskirts of the village.
In yet another incident, a 14-year-old girl, who was brought to the city from Meghalaya on the pretext of a job, was allegedly raped by three men over three days. The teenager was held captive by the men who kept moving from one location to another, shuttling between Delhi and Gurgaon.
We wake up to such terrifying incidents of rape, kidnapping and murder in the news almost every day. Rape is a reprehensible crime and the increasing number of cases reflect an alarming reality in India.
Recently, Haryana’s Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar made a shocking revelation in a statement that he gave in the State Assembly, which stated that Gurgaon and Faridabad have topped in crimes against women with 4,577 and 4,315 cases respectively.
He further revealed that Gurgaon has the maximum number of rape and murder cases registered in the past five years. Khattar informed the assembly that 663 rape and 470 murder cases have been registered in the state followed by Faridabad, which ranks second in the list with 543 rape and 337 murder cases registered from 2014 to 2019.
Not only that, but these two cities have also witnessed the highest number of child rape cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act in the past five years. The State Assembly was also informed that 953 criminals have been convicted in murder cases, 249 in rape cases and 457 in child rape cases.
Unfortunately, women in Faridabad aren’t safe from the cops either.
On May 28, a year-old video of five Faridabad police personnel beating up a woman resurfaced and went viral. The cops were slammed for their brutality. The spokesman said the incident took place in October last year, but at the time it was not reported to the police by the victim.
After the video went viral, a case was registered against them in Adarsh Nagar Police Station, Faridabad and the cops were suspended. The Commissioner of Police, Faridabad, Sanjay Kumar ordered the suspension of Head Constables Baldev and Rohit and dismissal of three SPOs Krishan, Harpal and Dinesh.
Now that's #Faridabad #Police trying to practice #BetiBachao #BetiPadhao ethos. Even if this #woman is guilty of any crime, how justified is the act ? #NCR pic.twitter.com/2tr78SGFrt
— PRAVEEN DUTTA (@PraveenDutta) May 28, 2019
These cases prove that the situation is not getting better even with stricter laws, and these are just the reported ones. Many victims are shamed into silence and callously disregarded. And it’s a known fact that women are routinely blamed for inciting the violence against them. Every time a woman is silenced, every time justice is delayed, we fail as a society.
Is this the world that we want our children to grow up in? Will we always have to live in fear? How do we make our cities safer? We know what the crime rates are, but do we know how to bring them down? The questions are asked every day, but remain unanswered.
Featured Image: Pexels
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