Journalist Gang-Raped In India, One Arrested, Four Identified

Updated on

Recalling the horror of the Delhi gang rape last year, a photo journalist was gang raped in Mumbai on Thursday evening, in a deserted textile mill, an incident that has once again infuriated the nation. The photo journalist was on official duty for a Mumbai-based English language magazine and was taking pictures of the residential buildings of former textile mill workers.

Journalist Gang-Raped In India, One Arrested, Four Identified

One man arrested 

The victim was admitted to Jaslok Hospital after the attack, where doctors examined her and declared her stable. In her statement given to the police, she stated that there were five goons in the Shakti Mill compound who first passed indecent comments and then harassed her. A male friend protested, whereupon two of the five thrashed him, while three took her inside the ramshackle structure and raped her.

Vicitims in Journalist rape case

The victim has identified two assailants by their names, Rupesh and Sajid, and the police released sketches of all five. The sketches were drawn taking inputs from the victim and her friend—all of the accused were approximately 24 to 30 years old.

Police have arrested one accused and have identified others involved in the ghastly crime, according to a report from Times Of India. However, Mumbai commissioner Satya Pal Singh declined to give any details about the arrests quoting the case to be sensitive.

“The woman, who is around 22 years old, had gone inside the Shakti Mills compound at about 6pm along with a young man who was carrying the cameras,” Singh said. “Five men who were inside the derelict textile mill first accused the woman’s companion of being wanted for a murder, tied him up with a belt, then took the woman aside and took turns raping her.”

The Commissioner of Police in Mumbai also said that police took action as soon as they came to know about the case at around 8:30 pm.

Mumbai not safe anymore

Kavita Krishnan, an activist, said that Mumbai has been a safe place for women, but that over the past couple of years the police and home departments are more inclined to restrict women’s freedom rather than safeguarding them. Krishnan also complains about “moral policing” in the city, accusing policemen of targeting women in restaurants and bars.

Journalist Deepanjan Pal said that like every woman in Mumbai, she also believed that women in Mumbai were safe, but her faith was brutally violated.

There were protests all over the country after the Delhi gang rape case, demanding stricter laws. After this incident, citizens have once again come on streets demanding stricter measures.

Leave a Comment