Dubai : Indian tweeps are livid. And they have reason to be - a mother of two was allegedly gang-raped by five men, then burnt alive in a temple in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
Indian newspaper, Times of India, stated that the five men barged into the victim’s house and attacked her. According to her husband, the victim had called UP police’s Dial-100 emergency service but no one answered the call. She sent a message to her cousin informing him of what happened, when the culprits came back, took her to the temple and set her ablaze.
The audio clip of the last call the 35-year-old sent is being used as evidence in the case.
The culprits have been identified and are from the same village as the victim. They had been harassing her prior to this incident.
In an interview with Indian broadcast channel Times Now, the superintendent of police for the area, accidentally revealed the victim’s name on television. He then said that the victim was not burnt and those were false claims. According to the Indian Penal Code Section 228-A, revealing the identity of a rape victim is against the law and is punishable by imprisonment.
Shocking insensitivity by U.P cop, SP of the area (Sambhal) ends up naming the rape victim, which is not allowed as per law #YogiMustAnswer pic.twitter.com/863RErqMg9
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) July 15, 2018
On social media, people were “horrified” when this news surfaced and were upset with the government’s inaction and the police indifference on the matter.
@JRavichandran tweeted: “Sickening to hear such stories. All rape cases should be tried by special court and convicted in 2 months. Then there will be fear of law. Government should work with the #SupremeCourt to find a way to implement.”
Tweep @Dilsedesh shared the video of the superintendent’s claims and wrote: “…here comes a shocking video of SP #Sambhal who is not only revealing the name of rape victim but also denying that no rape or even attempt to rape happened…”
A news editor @quizzicalguy tweeted: “The most disturbing piece of news that you will read this morning is of the gang-rape and murder of a woman in UP. The monsters dragged her to a temple and burnt her alive at the ‘yagnashala’ there. She tried and failed to reach the police.”
Many people criticised the Bhatatiya Janta Party (BJP) and their ‘Beti Bachao’ campaign (Save our daughters), saying that the government was not doing enough to ensure the safety of women.
Earlier this year, in a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey, India was named as the most dangerous country in the world for women, where around 106 rapes take place in a day.
