The New Normal: The Rising Number of Rape Cases and The Failure of our morality

By: Gurasees Gosal

The word ‘rape’ is a word Indians have gotten used to hearing. This by itself is worrisome because what does it say about a country that such a word is used in the news frequently. The recent case where a girl,13, who was gang-raped by a group of four men only after to be raped by the very police officer who was responsible for hearing the girl’s problem. This case took place in the state of Uttar Pradesh and has shaken the country and rightly so.

The young girl was lured by the group of men on April 22 and taken to Andhra Pradesh where she was kept captive and raped over the course of four days. The father informed the police that the group then brought the girl back to her village in Uttar Pradesh before fleeing away. As if this was not devastating enough the police officer in charge of registering her complaint the following day then raped her himself in the presense of her aunt. In the report filed it is shown that Tilakdhari Saroj, the police officer, raped her and then tried fleeing after the alledged crime. He has been charged under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, this means that if he is charged then he will face life in prison. Overall, the whole incident is not only gut-wrenching but shows the reality of the safety of women in the country.

The officer should have helped the girl file a complaint and guide her through the steps to be followed. He should have acted as her guardian. However, that was not the case as he allegedly raped her himself. So far four out of the six people named in the case have been arrested including Saroj and all the officers present in the police station when the incident happened have been removed. This is not enough as the problem of rape in the country is becoming a common occurance. The government and overall Indian society has to find a solution on how to stop this problem from happening. Now, the 13 year old girl has not only a long road to recovery from such trauma but also comes face to face with the reality that she has to find a way to move on. With such incidents becoming a common occurrence, who wouldn’t want to leave their motherland?

In the picture above is the police officer who stands accused of raping a minor who went to his police station in Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Source of image: DailyMail