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An American human rights and gender equality activist who was digitally raped by Rajeev Panwar, nephew of a former Delhi Mayor, Jayshree Panwar, took to social media on 30 July to rant against the apathy of the Indian judicial system.
She was digitally raped by Panwar while she was asleep in 2013. The man was convicted in February 2019 to seven years in jail. He was, however, freed on bail five months later.
“India’s incredible corruption and lack of support for women that are attacked is continuing. They refuse to help me, yet they say that they want to stop the violence against women in their own country. Yet a simple verification, like the one I received at the New York City at their consulate, I am being denied here in San Francisco. They want me to spend thousands of dollars to travel to the state of California on my own money because they have let a convicted criminal out on bail. We don’t give bail to convicted criminals.”The survivor said in a video that she shared on social media.
She shot the video in San Francisco in front of the Indian consulate where she was being made to attest additional documents which she had already submitted to the Indian consulate in New York.
“I come here to the San Francisco consulate, where I need to have these forma notarised so that High Court knows who my attorney is and I am on board, and I am again denied service and assistance from the consulate in India, now San Francisco. They tell me now that I need to go and get it notarised locally then have to go to Sacramento and get the notary verified.”The survivor said in a video that she shared on social media.
Her post attracted thousands of views and shares, leading to thecConsulate giving its version of the incident.
“Our deepest sympathies and our support are with you. As you know, all attestations were provided on the same day (Tuesday) after you spoke to the consulate officials and we waived the requirements of the Hague Convention that requires apostilling of legal documents. We hope that you obtain the justice you seek and deserve at the earliest.”Indian consulate to The Times of India
Her hashtag #NoBailForRapists has already caught on, on social media. Several influencers such as Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal have tweeted in her favour.
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