Indian gang-rape victim commits suicide

Published time: December 28, 2012 03:28
Edited time: January 07, 2013 12:41
Indian youth hold candles and placards as they take part in a candle light vigil following the gang rape of a student  in the Indian capital during a rally in Ahmedabad (AFP Photo / Sam Panthaky)

Amid widespread outrage over a gang rape in Delhi, another victim of sexual assault in India has committed suicide after police and suspects from an influential cast pressured her to drop the case.

The teenage girl was found dead Wednesday night after swallowing poison. She was assaulted during the festival of Diwali on November 13 in the Patiala region, Punjab, according to officials.

No arrests were made after she took her case to the police. It was only after her suicide that three suspects were detained on Thursday.

Inspector General Paramjit Singh Gill said that the teenager had been "running from pillar to post to get her case registered" but officers failed to open a formal inquiry. "One of the officers tried to convince her to withdraw the case," Gill, the police chief for the area, told AFP. One police officer has been sacked and another suspended over their response to the alleged incident.

According to the victim's sister the teenager was under great pressure from police. “The police started pressuring her to either reach a financial settlement with her attackers or marry one of them," she told Indian NDTV network.

India’s social structure could be at the heart of this tragic story, as The Hindu newspaper reported that the victim was from a low cast “untouchable” family. Meanwhile her suspected rapists come from an influential caste Hindu family. The names of the accused – Gurpreet Singh, Balwinder Singh and Shinderpal Kaur – were mentioned in her suicide note.

The teenager’s suicide comes after another case of alleged sexual violence sparked days of massive protests across the country. Protesters demanded the death penalty for the five suspects accused of attacking a 23-year-old student and her male friend on a charter bus on December 16. The woman was gang-raped and both were beaten with iron rods. She remains in critical condition after she was moved to a hospital in Singapore.

In efforts to curb violence against women, Indian authorities have decided to publish online details of perpetrators including their names, addresses and identity. "We are very serious about dealing with the problem and taking all possible action as early as possible," said Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh, the country's junior home minister.

Official figures show that 228,650 of the total 256,329 violent crimes recorded last year in India were against women. However the real figure is thought to be much higher as so many women are reluctant to report attacks to the police.

Comments (42)

Bernie Goetz (unregistered) 31.12.2012 18:10

I will say some radical things. India has a lot of corruption, poverty, and scum. The scum must be controlled if the majority is to have a decent quality of life. Constitutional rights in India should be temporarilly suspended. Not only should these 6 rapists be publicly executed but evryone arrested for rape in India in the past 5 years should be executed. With regards to crime the government in India is as much an enemy of the people as the rapists. If the average criminal case in India takes more than 5 years to resolve its a ridiculas situation.  Cases are not  properly resolved, they are settled with payoffs. The justice system and criminals work together. Justice delayed is justice denied. The present western style “democratic” government in India does not serve the people, it serves primarily itself. People only have the choice between corrupt candidates. India needs a revolution. They would be better off with a responsible dictaorship if it was with the consent of the majority.

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Analyst (unregistered) 28.12.2012 22:33

Foreigner NGO in India (unregistered) wrote in #15I am from France working as an intern in Indian NGO,I would like to share my experiences in regard in with indian society--Indian roads will not have any name plates so its hard to figure out exact location ,So i was asking the route to a traffic police officer, and he replied to me that " If i see his "sisna" "- he would tell me the route- Later i  got the translated meaning of SISNA-- It means Erect male organ.There are many indian men who use Words like Choot ( Female Organ),Lund ( male organ), sisna(Erect male Organ)- While addressing any foreignerAll those ads of India Shining are Fake , most of them done to attract tourists .Most indians are Highly rude .--------Its not just indian men , Indian women are worse, While working with NGO, I have listened so many indian women Gossiping about their colleagues male organs.-------A married 24 year old house surgeon working in Public hospital lucknow is secretly use  Comatose    her Patients and give oral to them.---Many indian women use to stare at me and my Breast, One indian colleague w ent further to touch my private parts and she is an women, I can see an aroused look in her eyes.--------- In india there are many  Lesbian women , but they hide their feelings as any LGBT relations are frowned in their culture.Most indians are unethical and very corrupt,Its not just politicians but your average indian will scheme you if he gets a chanceEvery indian is trying to manipulate you and take you for a run, most of the people are unethical but highly Hippocratic. Sadly,The indian you see in films is no where near to decadent india in realityPeople are worse, they cheat, corrupt,lie every minute always trying to extract money from youIn some tourist places you will be charged 700 percent extra money for being a foreigner .and indians worry why no one is visiting their nation inspite of all PR -which is ofcourse completely different from realityPeople are india are very arrogant and rude So true living in Australia they are so many indians and what you described is exactly what I have witnessed. In honest truth they have NO hygiene what so ever. They smell worse than animals and their odour is so strong one indian can stink up the train carriage.

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Liz (unregistered) 28.12.2012 22:29

Reminds self, never travel to India.

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