A 20-year-old woman was allegedly kidnapped, gang-raped by three men, beaten up, and then paraded by locals in a colony in Delhi's Shahdara after her head was shaved off, and face blackened, on Wednesday, 26 January afternoon.
Delhi Police has filed an FIR under IPC sections for gang-rape, kidnapping, illegal confinement, and physical assault. DCP (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram told The Quint, "Six people have been arrested so far. The investigation is on." The incident took place at around 12.30 pm on Wednesday.
A horrific video of the woman being paraded, being pushed, and slapped around was shared on social media by Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief Swati Maliwal on Thursday, a day after the incident.
In the video, a crowd of mostly women is gathered around the 20-year-old, with young girls and women cheering on as she is paraded. The woman was also made to wear a garland of slippers.
Cops Deployed Outside Survivor's Family's Home
DCP (Shahdara) told The Quint, "One of the accused, a woman, has alleged that the survivor is 'responsible' for the death of her 16-year-old son. The boy had died by suicide last year, as per the accused."
The survivor's cousin told The Quint, "My sister lived in this colony till she got married a few years ago. After that, she moved to a different area, a few kilometres away, with her husband. On Wednesday, she was kidnapped from her house, brought to a house in this colony, locked up in a room... Usne bola uske saath rape hua hai (She told us that she was raped)." The survivor's sister and father, who is differently-abled, live in the locality.
The survivor's sister told ANI that a boy living in the neighbourhood, who had claimed to the love the survivor, had died by suicide last year, and since then, the survivor was blamed for his demise by the family.
The survivor's family had demanded protection from the Delhi Police. "Senior police officers from the district paid a visit, and have deployed some police personnel outside the house," said the 20-year-old's cousin.
The DCP said that they received a call from the woman's husband on the afternoon of 26 January, after which she was rescued, and sent for a medical examination.
The officer said that the DCW was then brought on board to help with the woman's counselling. She stayed at a government-run shelter home for women last night, and her statement was recorded today, said the DCP.
What Has the DCW Said?
The DCW chief met the 20-year-old woman, and told The Quint, "I met her, she is completely traumatised. She told me that she was kidnapped from her house, taken to a room in the Shahdara colony, where three men gang-raped her. She told me that there were women also present there, who egged on the men to assault her. I saw the injury marks on her. She has bruises on her face, back, arms, and legs."
Maliwal alleged that the accused are in the business of "illicit liquor," and "emboldened because of police inaction." She said, "The accused, including the women who paraded her and encouraged the men in the room to assault her, should be punished."
The DCW also sent a notice to the Delhi Police demanding a copy of the FIR, details of all accused, steps taken by the police to ensure safety of the survivor and her family, and footage of the entire incident, among other things.
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NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma's letter to Commissioner of Police, Delhi.
(Arranged by The Quint)
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CM Kejriwal, NCW Chief Demand Strict Action
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also reacted to the video shared by Maliwal, and tweeted: "This is very shameful. How did the criminals get so much courage? I urge the Union Home Minister and the Lieutenant Governor to instruct the police to take strict action, pay attention to the law and order situation. Delhiites will not tolerate such heinous crime and criminals at any cost."
Apart from this, Rekha Sharma, chairperson of National Commission for Women (NCW) took suo motu cognisance of a news report on the incident, and wrote a letter to Rakesh Asthana, Commissioner of Police, Delhi.
She wrote, "The Commission is distressed with the abysmal alleged incident, and the cruelty perpetrated on the victim is highly condemnable in strongest possible words. You are, therefore, requested to look into the matter ensure that all the accused are arrested immediately, and booked under the relevant provisions of the IPC, along with other relevant provisions of the law."
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