After the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of the convicts accused of the brutal gang-rape of the 23-year-old paramedics in Delhi, there was a rush of happiness as the bloodlust collective conscience of our nation got fulfilled.
But it made me wonder if that is enough to put an end to the heinous crime. Will killing four people make Indian women safer than ever? I mean, has death penalty stopped murders? Then how can we so naive to think that it will stop rapes? Also, as the court stated, Nirbhaya case fell under the rare of rarest category and that’s why the convicts deserved death. But what exactly is rare of rarest? Why do we have to register violence only after she was tossed out on road naked with her genitals out? Why aren’t other cases like ogling and making her uncomfortable at public places equally violent? It’s pretty clear that the call for capital punishment simply ignores the ground realities and reasons of rape. Because had that been the scene, 5 rape cases just within 10 days of the Nirbhaya verdict wouldn’t have taken place. Here are the cases that have been reported recently:
Woman raped in Gurugram, thrown on Delhi road
A 22-year-old woman from Sikkim was allegedly raped by three men in a moving car and thrown out on a road in Delhi. The woman was attacked at around 2 AM when she was returning from Delhi to her residence in Sector-17, Gurugram. As she reached near her house, she was dragged by three men into their Swift car. They then took turns to rape her in the moving vehicle while heading to Najafgarh and later threw her in the same area and sped away.
Rohtak gangrape case
A 23-year-old woman was kidnapped, brutally gang-raped and murdered by smashing her skull with bricks after she threatened the accused to inform authorities. The gruesome incident, according to ANI, took place on May 9 and came to light when the victim’s body was found in an empty plot in IMT area of Rohtak. The accused was allegedly pressurising her for marriage and it was an act of revenge after she refused. While the accused and his six friends had tried running her over to hide her identity, stray dogs had bitten away her face and the lower portion of her body while she was thrown away. This incident has again created an outrage in the capital city. Two people have been arrested in this case so far, while five are still absconding.
10-year-old pregnant after being raped by stepfather
A 10-year-old has been found to be 5 months pregnant and is critically ill after being allegedly raped by her stepfather. As per the reports by NDTV, the girl told her mother that her stepfather had been sexually assaulting her and had threatened her against talking about it. As soon as the victim’s mother discovered her condition, she took her to a doctor where the doctor confirmed her pregnancy.
21-month-old raped in Delhi
A 21-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping a 21-month-old girl in Shahdara’s Gandhi Nagar area. According to the Police, the girl was admitted to hospital and her condition is said to be stable. Ironically, the incident took place on May 5, the same day when the Nirbhaya verdict when came out! Hari Ram, a labourer at a factory, who lives in her neighbourhood with his family, took her to his home while she was playing outside her residence on the pretext of giving her sweets. He dropped her home after the assault and fled. Meanwhile, Hari Ram has been booked under various sections, including of the POCSO Act, at Gandhi Nagar police station.
Two youths held for raping minor
Two youths of Brahmapura village in Muzaffarpur district, 70 kms north of Patna, were arrested late on the evening of May 6 (a day after Nirbhaya verdict) for raping a minor girl in New Delhi. The duo, who have been identified as Akash Kumar, 19, and Shivam, 18, hails from Muzaffarpur and were studying in Delhi and preparing for engineering competitive examination. The accused were neighbours of the victim and had reportedly called her to their room, where they and one more youth raped her. A Delhi Police team tracked down the cell phones of the youth and held them with the help of district police.
So, if the death penalty would act as a deterrent to rapes, maybe these victims and many more who could not make it to the news, would have been safer. We can not teach not to kill by killing and rape cannot be stopped by hanging 3 or 4 people. It will stop only if the mindset of the society changes.
