A gang rape editorial photo shoot by Raj Shetye called 'The Wrong Turn' featuring model Pooja Mor reminiscent of the Delhi Gang Rape caused international outrage due to its insensitivity worldwide in 2014. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
The shoot glamorised the 2012 Delhi Gang Rape "...the photos show a model being sexually assaulted by men sitting on a set resembling a bus. One image in the series called “The Wrong Turn” shows a man grabbing her shoulder while she looks away in disapproval and is pushing away another man. Another picture shows the model lying down while one man fondles her leg and the other holds her down." [7]
The parents of the gang rape victim dubbed Nirbhaya described the incident as "he...has mocked a girl's struggle. He has no right to play with anyone's sentiments." and "they should be ashamed of it.... he should be punished... the photo shoot should be banned." [8]
National Commission for Women called for strict action against the photo shoot, Congress MP from Bihar Ranjeet Ranjan described the incident as disgusting and said she had given a notice in the Lok Sabha for discussion on the issue. Activist Abha Singh condemned the act saying it was "not only a national shame but also legally a crime." [9]
Rape is the fourth most common crime against women in India. According to the 2021 annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 31,677 rape cases were registered across the country, or an average of 86 cases daily, a rise from 2020 with 28,046 cases, while in 2019, 32,033 cases were registered. Of the total 31,677 rape cases, 28,147(nearly 89%) of the rapes were committed by persons known to the victim. The share of victims who were minors or below 18 – the legal age of consent – stood at 10%.
The 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder, commonly known as the Nirbhaya case, involved a rape and fatal assault that occurred on 16 December 2012 in Munirka, a neighbourhood in South Delhi. The incident took place when Jyoti Singh, a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, was beaten, gang-raped, and tortured in a private bus in which she was travelling with her male friend, Avnindra Pratap Pandey. There were six others in the bus, including the driver, all of whom raped the woman and beat her friend. She was rushed to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi for treatment and transferred to Singapore eleven days after the assault, where she succumbed to her injuries 2 days later. The incident generated widespread national and international coverage and was widely condemned, both in India and abroad. Subsequently, public protests against the state and central governments for failing to provide adequate security for women took place in New Delhi, where thousands of protesters clashed with security forces. Similar protests took place in major cities throughout the country. Since Indian law does not allow the press to publish a rape victim's name, the victim was widely known as Nirbhaya, meaning "fearless", and her struggle and death became a symbol of women's resistance to rape around the world.
Manohar Lal Sharma is an Indian lawyer known for filing a number of frivolous public interest litigations.
Nirbhoya is a 2018 Bengali film directed by Milan Bhowmik and produced by Sanjib Samaddar under the banner of Sambit Media and Productions. The film is based on the 2012 Delhi gang rape case. Apart from West Bengal, the film will also be released in other states like Orissa, Assam and Bihar. Another version of the film, dubbed in Hindi script editing in Hindi done by Sudeshu Shivam will also be released.
The 2013 Mumbai gang rape, also known as the Shakti Mills gang rape, refers to the incident in which a 22-year-old photojournalist, who was interning with an English-language magazine in Mumbai, was gang-raped by five people including a juvenile. The incident occurred on 22 August 2013, when she had gone to the deserted Shakti Mills compound, near Mahalaxmi in South Mumbai, with a male colleague on an assignment. The accused had tied up the victim's colleague with belts and raped her. The accused took photos of the victim during the sexual assault, and threatened to release them to social networks if she reported the rape. Later, an eighteen-year-old call centre employee reported that she too had been gang-raped, on 31 July 2013 inside the mills complex.
On 27 May 2014, a gang rape and murder of two teenage girls was reported in the Katra village of Budaun district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was widely reported in the press in India as well as overseas. After an extensive investigation, CBI concluded that there was no gang rape and the suspects were released. However, on 28 October 2015 the POCSO court rejected the CBI closure report; it was a major setback for CBI.
India's Daughter is a documentary film directed by Leslee Udwin and is part of the BBC's ongoing Storyville series. The film is based on the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder of 23-year-old "Nirbhaya", who was a physiotherapy student. The documentary explores the events of the night of 16 December 2012, the protests which were sparked both nationally and internationally as a result of the attack, and the lives of the men before they committed the attack. The film is told through the use of reconstructed footage and interviews with those involved in the case, including the defence lawyers, psychiatrists, and one of the rapists.
Daughters of Mother India is a 2014 documentary film directed and produced by Vibha Bakshi on the aftermath of the brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old medical student Nirbhaya in Delhi on December 16, 2012. For the first time in the history of the Delhi Police, Vibha was able to gain access to the Delhi Police control and command room right after Nirbhaya's death.
Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 has been passed by Parliament of India amidst intense controversy, debate, and protest on many of its provisions by Child Rights fraternity. It replaced the Indian juvenile delinquency law, Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, and allows for juveniles in conflict with Law in the age group of 16–18, involved in Heinous Offences, to be tried as adults. The Act also sought to create a universally accessible adoption law for India, overtaking the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956) and the Guardians and Wards Act (1890), though not replacing them. The Act came into force from 15 January 2016.
The National Women's Front (NWF) is the women's wing of the Popular Front of India, an organization which has been banned for a period of five years by the Government of India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act since 28 September, 2022.
Rewati Chetri is an Indian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She participated in Femina Miss India 2015 where she was a finalist. She has been crowned Miss Asia at the World Miss University 2016 pageant, held in Beijing. In 2016 she participated in the Senorita India pageant, and won the title of Miss International India 2016. She represented India at Miss International 2016 held in Tokyo, Japan
Pooja Mor is an Indian fashion model. Mor debuted at Louis Vuitton's Cruise 2016 runway show in Palm Springs in 2015.
Anuja Trehan Kapur is an Indian criminal psychologist who is also known as a counselor, social activist and advocate. Editor- Atul Tiwari
The Unnao rape case refers to the gang rape of a 17-year-old girl on 4 June 2017 in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, India. On 9 December 2019, the rape victim was set on fire on her way to testify against her alleged rapists and died of her injuries with 90% burns. On 16 December 2019, former MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was convicted for the rape on 20 December 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Further, Sengar was found guilty in the death of the girl's father in judicial custody.
Delhi Crime is an Indian police procedural crime drama streaming television series written and directed by Richie Mehta. Creative manager Chirag Shah and produced by Golden Karaven, Ivanhoe Productions, Film Karavan and Poor Man's Productions. The series star Shefali Shah, Rasika Dugal, Adil Hussain and Rajesh Tailang. The first season is set in the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gang rape. The second season focuses on the Chaddi Baniyan Gang.
In November 2019, the gang rape and murder of a 26-year-old veterinary doctor in Shamshabad, near Hyderabad, sparked outrage across India. Her body was found in Shadnagar on 28 November 2019, the day after she was murdered. Four suspects were arrested and, according to the Cyberabad Metropolitan Police, confessed to having raped and killed the doctor.
On 29 September 2020, a 22-year-old Dalit college girl was gang-raped and assaulted in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, India and she died on way to the hospital. Her family says that she was abducted on her way back home and raped by at least two Muslim men, Shahid and Sahil. Postmortem report suggests she was badly tortured even after the rape. The postmortem report said there were at least ten antemortem injuries on her body: eight contusion wounds on her cheek, chest, elbows and left thigh; and two abrasions on her left leg and knee. The two men accused were arrested by UP police, and the Uttar Pradesh government has offered financial assistance to the victim's family.
Pratibha Rani is a former judge of the Delhi High Court, in Delhi, India. She gained public attention after writing several controversial judicial orders, including an granting bail to political activist Kanhaiya Kumar, in which she quoted Bollywood song lyrics and described surgical procedures to caution him, and another order describing the offence of rape as a "weapon for vengeance and personal vendetta". She has also written several significant judgments, including the reaffirmation of death penalty to the convicts of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape and murder, and the reduction of sentences and grant of bail to convicted offenders of child sexual abuse on the grounds that the child victim may have consented to the abuse.
Usha Mehra is a former judge of the Delhi High Court, in India. She authored a significant report on lapses in police and judicial procedure in investigating and prosecuting cases of sexual assault in India, following the 2012 Delhi gang-rape and murder.
Yogita Bhayana is a well-known anti-rape activist in India, who heads People Against Rape in India (PARI), an organization that seeks to support rape survivors and help them get justice for their assailants. She has also founded and ran 200 homeless shelters in Delhi and landed support to rape survivors beginning anti-sexual violence efforts. She began a campaign "Nari Ke 2 Din" which seeks to create a special session of parliament on women’s issues.