New Delhi: Years after the news of ‘Nirbhaya’ gang-rape shocked the nation to the core, a similar incident has shaken India once again. A 27-year old woman was gang-raped in West Bengal’s South Dinajpur recently.
The victim had suffered Nirbhaya-like brutalities, an iron rod was found to be inserted into her private parts. Females were promised a lot following the 2012 gang rape.
The government promised to provide legal aid to victims, make it easier for rape survivors to register the crime, develop a more sensitive police force and fast-track courts to expedite cases, even announced the Rs 1000 crore Nirbhaya Fund in 2013, all this to make women feel safer.
However, even after five years, the women are as vulnerable as before. According to the reports, rape cases rose by 12.4 per cent in 2016 after a dip between 2014 and 2015. This is proved by many newspaper reports which are filled with stories of rapes happening across India.
All this certainly shows that if women hoped that after the 2012 gang rape they will lead a safe life, they were mistaken.
The woman who was raped is mentally challenged. She was being operated in the critical care unit at Malda Medical college. The complaint was filed by her neighbour as according to the reports the woman has no family.
Two persons aged 50 years and 45 years have been arrested and the police are searching for the others who were involved in the crime. While the country awaits the accused to be found and verdict to be executed, every cruel, heinous crime committed against a woman, takes us back to Nirbhaya and that cold grim night.