12-Yr-Old Girl Raped In Delhi, Family Gets WhatsApp Video Of Crime

With the gruesomeness of Kathua and Unnao rape yet to sink in among Indian citizens, another minor was raped in Delhi. A 12-year-old mentally challenged girl was raped by her neighbour on April 13. The family of the victim even received a WhatsApp video of the horrific crime the next day.

The crime

A young man named Bunty, who is the girl’s neighbour, along with two of his friends was arrested on Monday night from Mangolpur Kalan area in Delhi’s Rohini suburb. The video shows Bunty raping the child, while his friends recorded the video, reported NDTV.

Police said Bunty first lured the girl inside the community centre and then led her to a secluded spot to rape her. The spot where the man allegedly raped the girl was identified from the video made by his friends.

“Bunty has been booked for rape and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), and his friends under the relevant sections of IPC and the IT Act for their involvement in the crime,” said the police.

The family of the girl alleges that there is pressure from the accused’s family to withdraw the case. “Bunty is a powerful person and his other family members have a stronghold in the area. They are mounting pressure on us to withdraw rape case against Bunty after his arrest. They are also pressurising us to leave the locality,” the child’s mother was quoted by news agency IANS.

The Logical Indian take

In the last one week, several cases of rape came to the forefront. The excruciating details of the gang-rape and murder of the eight-year-old victim of Kathua and the delay in justice for the Unnao rape victim gathered massive public outrage, with many demanding death penalty. Yet, an eight-year-old was raped and murdered in Surat, Gujarat and another in Uttar Pradesh within a week.

The 12-year-old’s rape shows the audacity of the accused, who after raping the child circulated the video without fear of consequence. Despite the harsh punishment that rape invites, nothing stopped them.

The fact is, we live in a rape culture. Open any newspaper on any given day and multiple reports of rape or sexual assault pour out. The sheer volume of these incidents points to its acceptance by a major section of our population – as if rape were a systematic problem in our country.

The support that the accused rapists in both Kathua and Unnao received, points to an even bigger problem – not only do rapes happen in the country because a certain section of the society views women as inferior to men; not only do rapes happen because the law fails to speedily punish the perpetrators, but also rapists are protected by many, including our ministers.

Though prevention of rape or any other form of sexual violence demands education and awareness from the grassroots level, India urgently needs a shift in its policies and the priorities of its lawmakers.