The 2012 fatal gang rape of a young woman in the Indian capital moved hundreds of thousands of Indians to take to the streets to demand stricter rape laws.
But six years on and it seems little has improved for women and girls in India.
The alleged murder and rape of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua and the alleged rape of a young woman by a ruling party legislator in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh have sparked outrage nationwide and grabbed the world’s attention.
8-year-old Asifa was grazing her ponies in the forests in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir when she was kidnapped, held captive in a temple, raped multiple times before her mutilated body was found in the woods a week later.
Source: Twitter
against the eight accused reveal chilling details like how one of the rapists was invited from another town to “satisfy his lust” and how the gang strangled the little girl and hit her on the head twice with a stone — “in order to make sure” she was dead.
The police allege the crime was planned to “dislodge” a group of local Muslim nomads from the village in Kathua near Jammu by Hindu locals.
The case has taken , with two ministers of the ruling party, Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga coming out in support of the accused under the banner of an outfit called Hindu Ekta Manch.
Among the eight men arrested there is a retired revenue officer of the state, his relatives, and a serving police officer.
Members of Kashmir Civil Society, hold placards as they take part in a protest demanding death penalty for accused in the rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl. Source: Yawar Nazir/Getty Images
Her father was allegedly beaten up when she refused to withdraw her complaint. When the family complained to the police about the assault on the father, the police instead arrested the father.
The woman and members of her family allegedly tried to end their lives outside the house of Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, after she claims no action was taken against the accused.
The father succumbed to his injuries and died in custody on Monday.
On late Thursday night, the case was handed over to the country’s federal investigation body, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) upon Prime Minister’s Office’s (PMO) intervention.
The accused offender was detained on early Friday morning.
Both the cases have drawn sharp reactions from across the country.
While Congress President Rahul Gandhi led a flash protest at the India Gate to protest the rapes on Thursday night, many others including political leaders and film stars have expressed their outrage on Twitter.
The reports have grabbed global attention with the news reported by the , , , , , and .
Indian journalist Barkha Dutt, in her op-ed for , called these cases, “moments of acute national shame.”
