Dec 21, 2012: Another shocker for Delhi: Now, a 40-year-old woman gang-raped

New Delhi: Within a week of a 23-year-old woman being gang-raped by six men in a moving bus in the capital, a 40-year-old woman has alleged that she was raped in her house by three men at knife-point on Wednesday, police said. Two of the accused have been arrested.

"The incident was reported from east Delhi's Welcome area. The woman, who lives with her family, alleged that three of her neighbours raped her when she was alone at home Wednesday evening," said a police officer Friday.

A case was lodged after her medical examination at Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital confirmed rape.

Two of the accused, Gaffar and Alam, were arrested from their house while the third accused is on the run, police said.

The accused used to visit her house regularly.
Link: Another shocker for Delhi: Now, a 40-year-old woman gang-raped

Dec 21, 2012: Protests against Manipur actor's molestation spread

Reported by Kishalay Bhattacharjee, Edited by Ashish Mukherjee | Updated: December 21, 2012 22:46 IST

Imphal: Protests continued for the second day in Manipur's capital Imphal against the molestation and assault of a 22-year-old popular actor, Momoko, allegedly by a Naga militant leader. 

The protesting film and theatre artistes, who were led by Momoko, demanded immediate action against the militant, Livingstone Anal, as promised by Home Minister Gaikhangam yesterday. On reaching Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh's office, they were lathicharged by the police.

Livingstone, a leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (IM), allegedly assaulted Momoko during a fundraising concert in Chandel town earlier this week. 
"He was touching me. I warned him. Then he pulled my hair and threw me on the ground and repeatedly kicked me. He also hit my left eye," the actor alleged.

NDTV does not reveal the identities of women who have been assaulted, but Momoko requested that her identity not be concealed.

She said securitymen present at the concert did not help her. "When we asked the securitymen why they didn't help, they said they are on ceasefire. Does that mean a woman gets beaten in front of the police and they do nothing?" asked the actor.

Anal allegedly fired several shots at a co-actor who tried to help Momoko, but nobody was hurt.

According to a United Nations data, 70 per cent of women and girls experience sexual violence from men in their lifetime, but it occurs with shocking regularity in conflict zones. Rape and all forms of sexual violence are used as tools to dominate, control, subjugate and intimidate, and that is the reason such violence in any hostile area is recognised internationally as war crime.

Somiroy, a film curator from New York visiting home, also joined the protest. "Any violence is unacceptable, but being part of the film community of Manipur, it is our obligation to point out that this is something we have to say a resounding NO to," he said.

The protest threatens to turn into a mass agitation if the administration fails to act. The artistes have called for an indefinite Manipur bandh unless Anal is arrested. 
Link: Protests against Manipur actor's molestation spread

Dec 21, 2012: Woman allegedly gang-raped, ornaments looted in Odisha

Press Trust of India | Updated: December 21, 2012 19:21 IST

Jajpur, Odisha: A 24-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped and her gold ornaments looted by three men after they forcibly took her to a forest in Keonjhar district of Odisha, police said on Friday.

The three were arrested on Thursday from their villages in Keonjhar district in connection with the incident that took place on Tuesday.

The married woman from Cuttack, who had gone to her younger sister's house in Jajpur district, was waiting for a bus to return to the town at Solei Chhak when one of the accused Subha alias Papu offered her a lift in his SUV, police said.
The woman was then taken to a forest at Ghatagaon in neighbouring Keonjhar district where she was allegedly sexually assaulted by Papu, Manas Das and Sujit Ghadei. 

She was robbed of her gold ornaments and mobile phone and left unconscious.

When she regained consciousness, she took a bus home from Ghatagaon-Anadapur road and later lodged a complaint at the Jajpur Road police station on Wednesday.

IIC of Jajpur Road police station Aswini Kumar Sahu said all the accused were held and the woman's ornaments and mobile phone recovered.

The result of a medical examination of both the aggrieved and the accused are awaited, he said.
Link: Woman allegedly gang-raped, ornaments looted in Odisha

Dec 21, 2012: 19-year-old allegedly gangraped by five persons

Press Trust of India | Updated: December 21, 2012 23:25 IST

Bhubaneswar: A 19-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by five persons at a secluded house in Bhubaneswar, police said on Friday.

The incident took place on Wednesday night when the girl was returning home in the city after a dance session at a hotel. A part-time dancer, the girl earns her livelihood by singing and dancing in parties, they said. 

According to an FIR lodged by the girl at the Mahila Police Station here, a 50-year-old man identified as Jatadhari Sahu invited her to discuss about a dance programme. She was taken to a house where four others were waiting.
"The girl was allegedly gangraped by the five and dumped at a place near Kalinga Stadium," Inspector-in-Charge of Mahila Police Station Amita Tripathy told reporters here quoting the FIR copy.

Stating that medical examination of the girl was conducted, Tripathy said police on Friday arrested four accused-- Jatadhari Sahu, Biranchi Narayan Das Mohapatra, 39, Subrat Das, 28, and Sangram Keshari Pradhan, 28, while the fifth accused was absconding. Sahu runs a private security agency, while the others are engaged in petty trade. 

They were produced before a court here and remanded in jail custody.
Link: 19-year-old allegedly gangraped by five persons

Dec 21, 2012: Three-year-old raped by father, abandoned by mother, struggles for survival

Mid-Day.com | Updated: December 21, 2012 19:40 IST

Mumbai: On November 25, a brave 19-year-old girl caught her neighbour in the act of raping his three-year-old daughter, and rescued the child. Since then, the only family known to Asha (name changed to protect privacy) as she inches towards a recovery, are doctors who have been treating her, cops stationed to watch over her, and a caretaker appointed by the NGO that is in charge of her care and protection. Her father, thankfully, is in jail. Her mother has nothing to do with her, having remarried years ago.

Asha's ordeal began last month, when the teenager spotted her being raped by her father, and tried to stop him. Threatened by him, she retreated out of fear for her own safety, but returned resiliently to the crime scene and found the bleeding child. The teenager then washed and dressed the girl before handing her over to the police. According to her caretaker who works with the NGO Yuva Childlife, the child's father forced her to drink alcohol, and then covered her eyes with a scarf. Inebriated, the child fell asleep, only to wake up with pain in her genital area. Doctors later confirmed a tear in her vagina.

The good news is that Asha is now out of danger. The NGO has ensured that someone is always present at the hospital to look after her. Vijay Kharat from Yuva Childlife said, "We came to know about her condition through the media, and were keeping track of her health. She has recovered from two successful surgeries. In three days, we will confirm the date of her third and final surgery.

The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) will decide where the victim will reside after she is discharged. We might even keep her in our association's cottage." For all the pain that she had braved, Asha's spirit is resilient. "She is very well behaved and friendly. She loves playing with the other patients," said her caretaker from CWC. Until last week, Kolsewadi police had assigned two female constables to watch over Asha.

As per the Juvenile Justice Act, child victims are to be produced before the CWC within 24 hours of the crime, but there was an inordinate delay of almost a week on part of the Kolsewadi police in doing so. While they attributed it to the fact that she was severely injured at the time and unfit to be physically produced, CWC members maintained that her case should have been produced, if only on paper. Her father, allegedly a drunkard and a drug addict, has been booked on charges of rape, causing hurt, criminal intimidation and kidnapping.

After taking Asha into its custody, the CWC appointed a psychiatrist to counsel her and has also ensured that she has a supply of toys to keep herself occupied.  
Link: Three-year-old raped by father, abandoned by mother, struggles for survival

Dec 21, 2012: Minor raped in Baramati

TNN | Dec 21, 2012, 04.29 AM IST
PUNE: An eight-year-old school girl was allegedly raped by two minor boys aged 11 and 17 years. The incident took place at Baramati on Wednesday afternoon. The Baramati city police have detained the two boys. The victim, a Class III student, has been sent to a hospital for treatment.

Additional superintendent of police Ravindrasinh Pardeshi told TOI that the incident came to light on Wednesday evening after the victim informed her grandmother. "The victim and the boys reside in the same lane in Baramati. The 11-year-old boy is a relative of the victim," Pardeshi said.

He said that on Wednesday at around 3 pm, the victim's relative lured her with Rs 10 and took her on the banks of Karha river. He then called the other boy and they allegedly raped the victim, Pardeshi said.

Pardeshi said that the victim as well as the suspects are from poor families. The victim stays with her father, a labourer, and grandmother.

Inspector of the Baramati police station Kailas Pingle said that the boys were produced before thejuvenile court on Thursday. One of them was sent to an observation home in Yerawada, while another was sent to the observation home in Shivajinagar.

The 11-year-old boy studies in Class IV while the 17-year-old is a Class VIII student of a school in Baramati.
Link: Minor raped in Baramati

Dec 20, 2012: Husband attacks wife with blade at railway station in Mumbai

Press Trust of India | Updated: December 20, 2012 23:14 IST

Mumbai: A woman was injured after being attacked with a blade by her husband outside a railway station in Mumbai, police said on Thursday.

In what was second instance of assault on a woman at a public place this week, the 36-year-old woman was attacked by her husband on Wednesday in an inebriated state near Vidyavihar railway station, police said.

The victim, who received injury on her neck, was rushed to a nearby hospital where she is said to be out of danger, they said. According to Tilak Nagar police, the woman had left her unemployed husband a few months ago as he used to allegedly beat her and their two children under the influence of alcohol.

Furious over this, the accused slashed her neck when he spotted her near the railway station.

He was apprehended by passersby and handed over to the police.

On Monday last, a 25-year-old woman pursuing Chartered Accountancy was stabbed by a man at a bus stop in Dadar near central Mumbai.

The victim, with her face covered by a scarf, was standing at the bus stop when she was attacked by a man, who mistook her as his wife whom he wanted to kill over some family dispute, police said.

As per statistics available with the police on crime against women, 213 rape cases were registered in Mumbai till now in 2012 as against 215 last year.

Deputy Police Commissioners in the metropolis have been instructed to personally look into the crimes against women.
Link: Husband attacks wife with blade at railway station in Mumbai

Dec 20, 2012: Woman gang-raped at bus stand in Mau district of Uttar Pradesh

By Ashish Tripathi, TNN | Dec 20, 2012, 03.04 PM IST

LUCKNOW: After gang rape of a girl in a moving bus in Delhi, which shocked the entire country, a 38-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by three persons at a roadways bus stand in Mau district of Uttar Pradesh. 

However, while police acted swiftly in Delhi case after media highlighted the incident leading to countrywide public outrage, in Mau the police refused to lodge a rape complaint and registered a case of molestation, eve-teasing and theft. In fact, the police had initially refused to entertain the complainant but registered a case in 'mild sections' of IPC after local media highlighted the matter. 

According to reports, the incident happened late on Tuesday night. The victim, a resident of Azamgarh district, was going to Vindhyachal along with her in-laws. On the way, their neighbours Jhanku Ram, Prem Chand and Tilakdhari also joined them. All boarded a bus for Mau from where they had to catch a train for Vindhyachal. After reaching Mau, woman's family members went to the railway station to buy tickets while she stayed back at the bus stand to look after the luggage. Taking advantage of the situation, the three neighbours raped the woman and gagged her when she raised an alarm. 

The culprits fled after committing the rape leaving her unconscious at waiting room of the bus stand. Family member of the victim found her on return after buying tickets. They informed police. The police then took the victim and the family members to the police station but refused to accept the written complaint of the woman complaining about the gang-rape. When mediapersons reached the police station, the police lodged a case of molestation and claimed that victim's family has not lodged a complaint of rape. However, the victim said that she had lodged a written complaint of gang rape. 

Meanwhile, protests against Delhi gang rape incident and increase in crime against women continued in various parts of the state. In Lucknow, All India Democratic Women's Association, staged demonstration and demanded speedy trial of rape cases. Women activists also raised the issue of Aashiana rape case in which trial of the prime accused has not started even after seven years. 

Angry protests were also reported from Kanpur, Varanasi, Meerut and Ghaziabad. On the other hand, during last 24 hours, gang rape cases were also reported from Rae Bareli, Rampur, Sonbhadra and Farrukhabad.
Link:Woman gang-raped at bus stand in Mau district of Uttar Pradesh

Dec 20, 2012: Man gets 7 years in prison for raping teen daughter

By Rebecca Samervel, TNN | Dec 20, 2012, 02.58 AM IST

MUMBAI: A 40-year-old man was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment on Wednesday for raping his 14-year-old daughter several times over a year. 

Sessions judge V M Mohite convicted the accused, John Sheri, and, apart from the jail term, fined him Rs 5,000. Sheri was booked under IPC sections 376 ( rape), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation). Sheri's crimes came to light in December 2011 after the daughter confided in her paternal uncle. The victim had reportedly complained to her mother on occasions, but no steps were taken to stop the crime. 

According to the prosecution, Sheri lived with his wife, son and daughter at Seven Bungalows, Andheri (West). Mostly unemployed and an alcoholic, he first sexually assaulted his daughter in 2010 during Ganeshotsav. When the victim's mother and brother were out, Sheri forced himself on the 14-year-old and, when she screamed, almost strangulated her. He then raped the minor while smothering her. Later, threatening with a beating, he told her not to tell anyone about the incident. 

The girl's ordeal continued for months. Once, Sheri even brought the teenager back from school just to sexually assault her. Unable to bear the trauma, the girl mustered up the courage to confide in her mother. But, when confronted, Sheri denied the assertion. 

In October 2011, on the pretext of visiting family in Pune, Sheri took the victim along with him. En route, he checked into a hotel, where he repeatedly raped her. In Pune, the teen told her aunt about the repeated assault. On their return, the girl once again complained to her mother, but, when questioned, Sheri simply beat up the woman. 

The girl eventually spoke of her trauma to her uncle, who helped her register a complaint with Versova police. The victim was taken to hospital where tests revealed injuries on her private parts. The girl's statements were recorded and Sheri was arrested immediately. Since then, he has been in jail. The victim was sent to a welfare home for children, where she still resides. 

"In court, the victim supported the prosecution case. Her mother did not testify, but among the four witnesses were her uncle, aunt, the investigating officer and the medical officer who conducted the tests," said public prosecutor P S Tawde. 
Link: Man gets 7 years in prison for raping teen daughter

Dec 20, 2012: Girl raped, set on fire by lover in Bengal

By Pinak Priya Bhattacharya | Dec 20, 2012, 05.01 AM IST

SILIGURI: A 25-year-old girl was raped and then set on fire allegedly by her lover at Gujiapani tea garden in Bagdogra on the outskirts of Siliguri last Friday. The girl who sustained 40% burns is battling for life for the past six days at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. The accused, Sankar Barui, has gone into hiding.

The victim's father has lodged an FIR at Bagdogra police station against Sankar and has accused him of raping and trying to kill his daughter following which a case has been registered.

Locals said Sankar and the girl had an affair. On December 14, the accused reportedly got into a physical relationship with the girl, on the pretext of marrying her. But soon after, he refused to marry her. When the girl protested, it sparked a quarrel between the two, following which Sankar reportedly tried to kill her by setting her ablaze, they said.

"Whether the girl was set on fire or it was a case of suicide, we do not know. But the two had an affair for sure," a local said.
Link: Girl raped, set on fire by lover in Bengal