India has made progress in various areas, but it lacks the issue of women’s safety. Despite progress, the safety of women in the country remains critical. Hence the safety of women in India has been a subject of intense discussion and concern for many years. Women in a country like India have witnessed several brutal rape cases over the years that have sparked national outrage on women’s safety.
The recent one is the Kolkata rape and murder case. Where 31 years old trainee doctor was brutally raped and murdered. This shows that men in our society still need to educate themselves and show respect towards women. Let us take a look at some of the most horrific rape cases that stirred the nation.
Nirbhaya Case (2012)
A 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, Jyoti Singh, was brutally gang-raped and assaulted by six men on a moving bus in Delhi on December 16, 2012. The attackers also tortured her with an iron rod causing severe internal injuries. She took her last breath on December 29, 2012, in a Singapore hospital. The case led to massive protests across India, demanding justice for Nirbhaya with strict punishment for rape and the introduction of fast-track courts for sexual assault cases. Four of the six accused were sentenced to death and were executed in March 2020.
Shakti Mills Gang rape (2013)
In August 2013 a 22-year-old photojournalist was gang-raped by five men in the abandoned Shakti Mills compound in Mumbai. The attackers lured her to the spot under the pretext of a photo shoot and then assaulted her. This case occurred soon after the Nirbhaya case, which fueled the anger and rage among the people and the demand for harsher punishments for rapists. Three of the accused were sentenced to death under the newly introduced “repeat offender” provision of the Indian Penal Code.
Unnao Rape Case (2017)
Another horrific incident took place in June 2017 when a minor girl was raped by Kuldeep Singh Sengar, a powerful BJP MLA in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. The victim and her family faced severe harassment and threats, leading to the death of her father in police custody. The case highlighted the misuse of power by many individuals to suppress justice. But finally, after public pressure and media scrutiny, Sengar was eventually convicted to life imprisonment in 2019.
Kathua Rape Case (2018)
In January 2018, an 8-year-old girl from the Bakarwal community was kidnapped, drugged, gang-raped, and murdered in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. The crime was premeditated and motivated by the desire to drive the nomadic Muslim community out of the area. The case led to protests demanding justice for the victim. The gruesome details of the crime shocked the nation. The trial led to convictions, with three men being sentenced to life imprisonment.
Hathras Case (2020)
A brutal incident took place in September 2020, when a 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped by four upper-caste men in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. The victim passed away two weeks later. The authorities did the late-night cremation of the victim without the family’s consent. This led to widespread protests and outrage The case reignited debates on caste-based violence, and the treatment of Dalits. Also, the government faced severe criticism for its response to the incident.
Kolkata rape case (2024)
The recent one that stirred the nation is the brutal murder and rape case of A 31-year-old trainee doctor. Her dead body, bearing multiple injuries, was found on August 9 in a government teaching hospital in Kolkata. Initially, the hospital authorities told the victim’s parent that their daughter had committed suicide. But an autopsy confirmed that the victim was raped and killed. Thousands of doctors marched in Kolkata on Monday, demanding better security measures and justice for the victim. On Tuesday, the Kolkata High Court transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
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