5 rape cases which shook India and the peoples conscience
Investigations in the RG Kar Medical College rape case were handed over to the CBI and the culprit, Sanjay Roy who was a volunteer with Kolkata Police was arrested in the case. He was found guilty by the courts and is currently serving a life sentence for the crime and was also fined Rs 50,000. He was convicted for the rape and murder under sections 64, 66, and 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
New Delhi: Rape is considered to be one of the worst forms of crimes. The act of outraging the modesty of women, which leaves them both physically and mentally shaken has been reported multiple times from across India. In the past few years the crime has risen manifold and there have been cases which have left people shaken. Here are few of such rape cases from across the country.
1. RG Kar Hospital rape case: In August 2024, a rape case was reported from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. In this case a woman PG trainee doctor was allegedly raped and then murdered while she was on night shift in the hospital. The body of the woman was discovered in a seminar room of the hospital. The brutality of the incident was such that when the body wasa discovered, assumption was that this was a case of gang rape. The case led to massive outrage across the country, especially in Kolkata, which is considered a safer city when compared to places like Delhi and Mumbai.
Initially the college authorities tried to pass off the incident as a suicide death, but later they were forced to admit that this was a murder committed after rape. Reportedly the woman's eyes had been gouged out and both external and internal injuries were found on her mouth and neck. The case led to doctors across the country calling for a strike. They took to the streets to protest. Such was the scale of the outrage that even the Indian Medical Association joined the protest movement and the national president of IMA wrote in a letter of having failed the woman doctor.
The Central Bureau of Investigation was handed over the case and the culprit, Sanjay Roy who was a volunteer with Kolkata Police was arrested in the case. He was found guilty by the courts and is currently serving a life sentence for the crime and was also fined Rs 50,000. He was convicted for the rape and murder under sections 64, 66, and 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
2. Unnao Rape case: Another rape case which created quiet a stir across the country was the Unnao Rape case. This happened in 2017, when a 17-year old was gangraped at the residence of a former MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar.The rape case caused an outrage across the country and the rape victim's attempt to immolate herself brought attention of the public to the case. Protests were held across the country, demanding the arrest of Sengar. The man was finally arrested on April 13, 2018.
The woman had attempted to immolate herself outside Yogi Adityantah's residence. Such was the rage across the country, following the incident that even PM Narendra Modi was forced into making a statement on the matter. He had said that the culprits will not be spared but also appealed that the matter should not be politicised.
3. Hathras rape case: On September 14, 2020, a 19-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh. The accused were 4 upper caste men. The woman who had been shifted to a hospital in Delhi, died 2 weeks later. The outrage over the rape incident grew manifold after the Uttar Pradesh police were accused of forcibly cremate the body of the victim, without consent of her family. The police were accused of trying to hide evidence.
The four accused in the case were charged for attempt to murder, gang rape and violations of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
4. Shakti mills gang rape: In this case a 22-year-old photojournalist, working in Mumbai was allegedly gangraped at the Shakti Mills Compound. The incident happened in 2013. The woman was reportedly on an assignment when 5 people, including a juvenile allegedly raped her. The men also took photos of the woman and threatened to release the same on social media iof she approached the police. Later on, 5 people were arrested in the case, of whom 1 was a minor. Initially 3 of the rapists had been awarded the death penalty, but later on the Bombay High Court commuted the three death sentences to life imprisonment.
5. Nirbhaya rape case: The Nirbhaya rape case in Delhi is one of the most infamous cases of rape in India. In this incident, a woman in Delhi was brutally raped by 6 men, while in a bus in Delhi. The assault was brutal and left the victim badly injured. She later died at a hospital abroad. The rape case caused outrage across India and people took to the streets in Delhi. Several students joined the protest and faced water cannons from the police at the time. The rape case led to strengthening of rape laws in India. It was after this incident on December 16, 2012 that India got the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, several new laws were passed and several fast-track courts established to deal with rape cases. Not only that Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill 2015 was born out of this protest against the Delhi gang rape.