In India, suicide of another rape victim puts spotlight on inaction

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

In India, suicide of another rape victim puts spotlight on inaction
Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:59 GMT
Source: reuters // Reuters
By Manoj Kumar and Nita Bhalla and Ross Colvin

BADSHAHPUR, India/NEW DELHI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - On the evening of Dec. 26, as an Indian government-chartered jet was heading to Singapore with a critically injured New Delhi gang rape victim on board, the teenage survivor of another gang rape was taking her own life.

After writing a suicide note on a page torn from a notebook that named her alleged attackers and accused them of destroying her life, the 17-year-old schoolgirl drank pesticide typically used on the wheat fields surrounding her village in the northern state of Punjab.

By the time she was found, she was in agony and vomiting repeatedly, relatives said. Little-seen television footage shows her arriving at a hospital wrapped in a red blanket, unconscious or already dead, as her weeping mother cradles her head.

The brutality of last month's gang rape in New Delhi, which led to the death of the woman, generated anger across the country. But the police handling of the Punjab assault has also sparked outrage and debate about how the police and judicial system often fail victims.

"Enough is enough," Punjab Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri declared in court as he demanded a full police account of their handling of a "very sordid state of affairs".


Read more: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/in-india-suicide-of-another-rape-victim-puts-spotlight-on-inaction

[niyad]

1. and, there was ANOTHER bus gang-rape a couple of days ago--this is completely insane.

[smirkymonkey]

2. K&R

The situation in India is absolutely sickening. These crimes must be taken seriously and convicted rapists must be punished to the full extent of the law. I feel so sorry for the women there - it must be terrifying for them.

[sheshe2]

3. This is infuriating!

That poor child, felt she had no where else to turn. She reported it to authorities on Nov. 19....they never even registered the case until Nov.27! They DID NOT make an arrest until after she committed suicide.

Heartless bastards and a dysfunctional system, killed this girl.

Damn it, Damn it, Damn it this just breaks my heart.

The violence against Women has to Stop!

One woman is raped every 20 minutes in India, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, which reported 24,206 rapes in 2011. But many cases are never documented.

Police estimate only four out of 10 rapes are reported, largely due to deep-rooted beliefs in society that often mean victims are too scared to come forward for fear of being "shamed" by their families and communities.