News Analysis India

Tag: crimes against women

  • 23-year-old ‘Fashion designer’ from Pune alleges rape by Delhi man; case filed

    By PTI
    LATUR: A 23-year-old woman, who claims to be a fashion designer based in Pune in Maharashtra, has lodged a complaint of rape against a 28-year-old man from Delhi, an official said on Tuesday.

    The alleged incident had occurred on February 26 night at a hotel in Pune after the accused forced the victim to eat sweets laced with drugs, the official said quoting the FIR.

    Pune Police has also booked three more persons, including two women, for allegedly blackmailing the victim and circulating her objectionable photos and videos.

    The complainant alleged the accused extorted gold jewellery from her, police said.

    As per the FIR, the woman, who hails from Latur, is currently staying in Pune where she is pursuing a computer software course and also working as a fashion designer.

    All the four accused are residents of Delhi.

    The victim came into contact with a man on Instagram in February this year, who introduced her to a woman, the FIR said.

    The woman, who is also an accused in the case, in turn, introduced the victim to the main accused and told her that he works as a lawyer in the Delhi High Court.

    The victim later went to Delhi on the invitation of the main accused and the woman for sightseeing, the FIR stated.

    However, she left Delhi abruptly on February 17 after the main accused proposed a marriage.

    “Later, he and his friend hired a car to travel to Pune from Delhi to meet the victim. On their request, she even arranged for their stay in Kharadi area of the city,” the official said.

    On the night of February 26, the main accused forced the complainant to eat some sweets after having dinner at a hotel following which she fell unconscious and raped her, the FIR stated.

    He later threatened her and also assured a marriage.

    He forced the victim to come to Goa where he raped her again, it said.

    The accused also took money from her under various pretexts.

    The complainant later came to know that the main accused was married with a son.

    As per the FIR, the accused sent her objectionable photos and videos to the victim’s family members and friends when she warned them of filing a police complaint.

    Police Inspector Sunil Thopte told PTI over the phone from Pune that they will forward the FIR to senior officers and investigate accordingly.

    He said police are yet to arrest anybody named in the FIR given the COVID-19 situation in Delhi.

    An FIR has been registered at Chandan Nagae police station in Pune under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for rape and under the Information Technology Act, 2000.

  • 15-year-old girl in UP sets herself on fire after being molested by boy

    By PTI
    HAMIRPUR: A 15-year-old girl set herself ablaze at a village here on Tuesday morning after allegedly being molested by a boy, police said.

    The girl has been rushed to Kanpur for specialised treatment as she has received severe burn injuries, they said.

    Hamirpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Narendra Kumar Singh said on Monday afternoon the girl’s family had beaten up the 16-year-old boy for allegedly molesting her.

    The victim’s family had at that time refused to lodge a complaint.

    The girl’s family, however, later alleged that the boy used to often tease and harass the girl and had done the same on Monday.

    The police had let the accused go after warning him.

    Disturbed by repeated harassments and molestation on Monday, the girl sprinkled kerosene on herself around 8 am on Tuesday and set herself ablaze, according to her family.

    Before sending the girl to Kanpur for further treatment, her statement has been recorded in front of a magistrate, the SP said, adding further action will be taken on the basis of the complaint of the girl’s family.

  • UP man given death term for killing three, including infant, and raping her mother

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: An Azamgarh court on Wednesday gave a death sentence to a man for killing three members of a family, including a four-month-old child, after raping her mother in a village under Mubarakpur police station of the district 17 months ago.

    The two others killed were the child’s 30-year-old mother and 35-year-old father.

    Special POCSO Court Judge Ramendra Kumar sentenced the accused Nazeeruddin after convicting him of three counts of murder and one rape.

    Judge Kumar awarded the death penalty to the convict ruling that the murders committed by him fell in “the rarest of rare” category of crime.

    The judge also imposed a fine of Rs 9 lakh on the accused, stipulating that Rs 1.5 lakh of the fine be given to the kin of the rape victim.

    The case was tried by a court set up under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences as the crime committed by the accused also involved the murder of a minor girl.

    For the quick investigation of the case by the police leading to the conviction of the accused, the Uttar Pradesh government also announced a reward of Rs one lakh for the members of the police and prosecution team.

  • MP woman cuts off man’s genitals after he tries to rape her

    By PTI
    SIDHI: A 45-year-old woman chopped off the genitals of a man, who had allegedly tried to rape her by sneaking into her house in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district, police said on Saturday.

    The incident occurred in Umariha village, approximately 50 kms from the district headquarters, around 11 pm on Thursday, they said.

    As per the complaint lodged by the woman, her husband had gone out of station for some work when the incident took place, Khaddi police outpost in-charge sub inspector (SI) Dharmendra Singh Rajput said.

    “The woman was at home with her 13-year-old son when the accused (45) entered their house. However, thinking that a thief had sneaked in, her son ran to safety out of the house,” he said.

    Thereafter, the accused thrashed the woman and tried to sexually assault her.

    However, she resisted his attempt for over 20 minutes, he added.

    “In a bid to save herself, the woman picked up a sickle lying under her cot and cut off the man’s genitals. The woman then reached the police outpost and lodged a complaint against him around 1.30 am on Friday,” Rajput said.

    The police took the accused to a hospital for first aid, he added.

    “After that, he was shifted to Sidhi district hospital. As per the doctors’ advice, he was later admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in Rewa district for further treatment,” he said.

    The accused has been booked under IPC section 354 (criminal force on woman with an intent to outrage her modesty), 456 (house-trespass or house-breaking by night), 294 (obscene acts), 506 (criminal intimidation) and others.

    However, the accused has also filed a complaint against the woman, Rajput said.

    “Based on his complaint, a case has been registered against the woman under IPC section 327 (voluntarily causing hurt),” Rajput said.

  • Woman Cell ACP arrested for demanding sexual favours from rape survivor

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: A Rajasthan Police Service officer was arrested on Sunday for allegedly demanding sexual favours from a woman for acting on her complaints, an Anti-Corruption Bureau official said.

    Accused Assistant Police Commissioner Kailash Bohra was posted with a special unit of the state police, Crime Against Women, Jaipur, the ACB official said.

    ACP Bohra had first demanded money from the woman, who had lodged three complaints, including one of rape, ACB DGP B L Soni said, adding after the woman expressed her inability to give him money, he began demanding sexual favours from her.

    The accused forced the victim woman to meet him after office hours, the DGP said, adding the ACP was arrested after the woman’s complaint was verified and the officer called the woman to his place on Sunday, a holiday.

    The residence and other locations of the accused ACP too are being searched, the DGP said, adding a case has been registered against the officer under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

  • 15-year-old girl raped by uncle, left unconscious in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi

    By PTI
    AMETHI: A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her uncle and left in an unconscious state in a village in Mohanganj area here, police said on Wednesday.

    The incident took place on March 8 when the girl was supposed to be taken by her uncle to her maternal aunt’s place but instead was escorted to an orchard where she was raped by him, the victim’s mother alleged in the FIR.

    The mother said the accused left her daughter in the field in an unconscious state after committing the rape and fled the place.

    She came to know about it on Monday when someone saw the girl lying motionless in the orchard.

    Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Vinod Kumar Pandey said police is trying to catch hold of the accused who is absconding.

    A detailed probe is on in the matter.

  • Woman gang-raped, set on fire by father and son in UP’s Sitapur

    By PTI
    SITAPUR: A woman was allegedly gang-raped and later set on fire by a father-son duo after hitching a ride on their cart on the way home in Mishrikh area here, police said on Friday.

    Both the accused have been detained while the woman was admitted in the district hospital with critical burns.

    Sitapur Superintendent of Police R P Singh said the incident happened on Thursday after information was received on 112 emergency service that a woman in her thirties was allegedly raped and set on fire by two persons in Mishrikh area in Naimisharanya.

    Singh said the woman was going to Mishrikh from her maternal home in Sidhauli area and took lift from the cart-puller, who is one of the accused, on the way home.

    Both the accused – a 55-year-old man and his adult son – have been detained by police and interrogation is on, the SP added.

    He said that the woman was admitted in the district hospital in Sitapur where a team of doctors confirmed that she had 30 per cent burn injuries but is out of danger, the police officer said.

    The woman will be sent for a medical examination and police teams have been constituted for a detailed probe in the matter, the SP said.

  • Rising rapes, crimes against women: Unnao emerges as challenge for Yogi Adityanath government

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: A town of around 35 lakh people, Unnao is only 70 km from the state capital Lucknow. The peculiar downside of the semi-urban district — crime — brackets it with notoriety that even the tough Yogi Adityanath government has been unable to tame.

    Crimes against women have spiralled with law and order emerging as a major challenge for the four-year-old BJP government in the country’s most politically dominant state.

    The freshest is last week’s case wherein three minor Dalit girls were found unconscious and frothing in their field in Baburaha village under Asoha police station area.

    While two of them succumbed to alleged poisoning, the third is undergoing treatment at a Kanpur hospital. After remaining on life support for almost a week, the survivor has recorded her statement.

    ALSO READ | Unnao murder case: 17-year-old girl who survived confirms poisoning, denies sexual assault

    The case is a potent tool for the opposition to censure the Yogi government, especially on women’s security.

    Unnao has hit headlines several times in the last three years for reporting heinous crimes against women. When the BJP government completed its first year in office in 2018, the infamous Makhi rape case drew widespread outrage at national and international level.

    A minor tried to commit immolation in front of the Chief Minister’s house in seeking arrest of then Bangarmau BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his cohorts, accusing them of her rape and custodial death of her father. She charged Sengar with prevailing over Makhi police station officials and getting her father beaten to death in the lock-up.

    The case led to nationwide outrage and demonstrations that finally prompted the state government to recommend a CBI probe. The CBI made Sengar the main accused. He was later convicted by a special CBI court and was awarded life sentence which he is serving in Tihar Jail in Delhi.

    ​ALSO READ | ‘Burnt alive after failed rape bid’: 21-year-old Uttar Pradesh girl tells officials

    While the local people blame the police for the state of affairs, political commentators say the state government efforts to ensure women’s safety were limited to only urban areas.

    They say that in villages, there is a need to chalk out a fresh strategy that involves senior citizens to speed up resolution efforts.

    “The police in Unnao have become completely politicised. They do not move unless allowed by their political bosses. This attitude encourages criminals,” says senior advocate Kalinath Shukla, a resident of Ajgain. 

    Some of the top politicians in Uttar Pradesh belong to Unnao. They include Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit, Law Minister Brijesh Pathak and BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj.However, senior police officers say all-out efforts are being made to check crime.

    ​ALSO READ | India no country for women? Here’s what the National Family Health Survey reveals

    “The state might have taken many steps but an incident here and an episode there would often upset the whole scheme of things. Moreover, Uttar Pradesh is a huge state to manage,” says Prof AK Mishra, a political scientist of Lucknow University. While the police authorities claim that the number of crimes against women has gone down in the state, Unnao is a notorious standalone. 

    ​With the state assembly elections are a year away, the incidents like the Unnao poison case, a Dalit woman being burnt alive by five men of a Thakur family, or the acts of the likes of Kuldeep Sengar will continue to fuel belligerence in the opposition camp.

    TRAIL OF CRIME

    As many as 1,003 cases of crime against women committed in Unnao in 2019 alone, according to the NCRB

    February 22, 2018

    Woman burnt alive by paramour in Barasagwar police station area. Accused held, sent to jail. Legal proceedings on.

    March 28, 2018

    A man along with his wife and son murders his daughter under Hassanganj police station area. All three were arrested. Trial is on.

    April 2, 2018

    A pregnant woman was strangulated and her body burnt with petrol. The victim remains unidentified till date.

    April 8, 2018

    Disqualifed BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar, aides accused of gangrape and murder. Court convicts the MLA, hands lifer.

    February 23, 2019

    A woman burnt alive by sprinkling petrol at Sathni Balakhera village under Barasagwar police station area. Victim dies on spot.

    December 5, 2019

    A woman burnt alive after gang rape in a village under Bihar police station area. The victim dies at Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital. The case  is in fast track court.

    December 16, 2019

    A rape victim immolated self in office of the Unnao SP against IO’s alleged laxity which led to granting of bail to her perpetrators. Victim died later.

    March 11, 2020

    A minor was raped and murdered under Bihara police station area. Police took four months to round up the culprit. Trial in court.

    October 2, 2020

    The nephew of a deceased gangrape victim kidnapped from Bihara police station area. Five accused held and sent to jail. The child is yet to be rescued.

  • ‘Burnt alive after failed rape bid’: 21-year-old Uttar Pradesh girl tells officials

    By Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: The 21-year-old college student, who was found lying unconscious and severely burnt along the highway in Shahjahanpur, claimed that she was set ablaze by her friend’s brother-in-law on resisting his attempt to rape.

    On Wednesday, she gave her statement before a magistrate at a Lucknow hospital. The police have detained all three persons named by her.

    According to Shahjahanpur SP S Anand, the girl alleged that Manish, brother-in-law of her friend Pinki, and his two accomplices first tried to rape her in a field near Rai Kheda village but she foiled their attempt and tried to escape.

    They caught hold of her and poured kerosene and set her on fire on Monday, she said.

    The SP, meanwhile, said the victim had been frequently, changing her statements. Over a dozen college students were questioned so far in connection with the incident. 

  • Girl student from Chinmayanand-run college found lying with severe burns along national highway

    By PTI
    SHAHJAHANPUR: A girl student of a college run by a trust of former union minister Swami Chinmayanand was found without clothes and severely burnt lying along a national highway in Shahjahanpur district in Uttar Pradesh, police said on Tuesday.

    It was not immediately clear as to how the BA second-year student suffered burns and ended up on the roadside, the police said, adding she was not in a state to record her statement before a magistrate.

    According to Superintendent of Police S Anand, the student has suffered 60 per cent burns and has been referred to a hospital in Lucknow for better treatment.

    Director of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Civil Hospital in Lucknow S C Sundriyal told PTI Tuesday night that the condition of the girl seemed to be stable and that she was under observation round the clock.

    The girl had gone to the college accompanied by her father on Monday.

    As she did not come out after the classes, her father started looking for her.

    He was later informed that she has been found lying along the Lucknow-Bareilly National Highway naked and with severe burns and that she was being taken to a hospital by the police.

    The girl’s father said that he used to bring his daughter to the college once in a week or fortnight and used to wait outside till classes ended.

    The police said villagers had covered the girl with a sheet and that there was no trace of her clothes.

    The only thing the girl could recollect while talking to police personnel was that she was on the third floor of the college building.

    The girl was given first-aid at a Shahjahanpur hospital and referred to King George’s Medical University (KGMU) hospital in Lucknow, but her attendants brought her to the SPM Civil Hospital around 3 am, director Sundriyal said.

    “She is having almost 60 per cent burns on face, neck, ante part of both limbs, chest and abdomen. At present, there is swelling in the neck. Her condition seems to be stable at the moment.

    “But, if the swelling in the neck increases, it will become a problem for us,” Sundriyal told a PTI correspondent who visited the state-run hospital in the state capital.

    He said that the girl is under observation continuously and if her condition deteriorates, she would be referred to the KGMU hospital.

    “As of now she is stable, but we cannot be certain what will be her condition later on as the ante (front) part of the neck is involved. And at present, we cannot say by which method she was burnt. She has been administered some medications to ease pain and some drowsiness is there,” Sundriyal said.

    At the Civil Hospital, the 45-year-old father of the girl told PTI, “At around 10.00 am, we left home for the college.At 11.00 am, I dropped her at the college gate. When the college got over around 3.00 pm, and students were coming out, I could not spot her. Till 6.00 pm, I could not find her. After this, I got a call informing me about my daughter.”

    Suspecting the role of one of her friends, he said that her friend told her to go from the other gate of the college, but she (her friend) did not take that gate.

    “Whatever happened with my daughter, it is because of her friend,” he said.

    The girl from a village in the Jalalabad police station area studies in Swami Shukdevanand Postgraduate College, run by Mumukshu Ashram of Chinmayanand.

    The Mumukshu Ashram was in the centre of a controversy in 2019 after a female student of a law college run by it accused Chinmayanand of sexual assault.

    However, the student later withdrew her charges against Chinmayanand, who was arrested in the case in September 2019 and released on bail nearly five months later.

    In a separate incident in Shahjahanpur district, the body of a five-year-old girl was recovered and her seven-year-old cousin sister was found injured in the Kanth police station area.

    They had been missing since Monday evening after they had gone to a tubewell outside the village for taking bath, Anand said.

    As their family members and other villagers searched for them, the body of one of them was found in an agricultural field outside the village, while the other was found lying injured in neighbouring Fazilpur village, the SP added.