7 Years After Delhi Gang Rape & Murder - Why Justice To Rape Victims Is Still A Far Cry

Punishment delayed as thousands of cases await trial due to a huge dearth of forensic labs, fast-track courts & investigators

- Aneesha Mathur

THE country witnessed unprecedented protests in December 2012 when a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was brutally gang-raped and killed on a moving bus in South Delhi.

The government was forced to enact new laws and announce systemic changes to ensure perpetrators get swifter and more stringent punishment, thereby creating a strong deterrence against such crimes.

Seven years on, little has changed. Thousands of cases await trial — and the numbers are spiralling by the day — because of gaping loopholes in India’s criminal justice system like massive shortages of forensic labs, fast-track courts and investigators, despite tall promises made by the government, a Mail Today deep-dive has found.

The revelation comes at a time there’s a nationwide outrage after four men gang-raped and burnt alive a 26-year-old veterinarian in Hyderabad last week.

SHOCKING NUMBERS

According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, there were 33,658 reported cases of rape and sexual assault in India in 2017. About half of victims were from the 18-30 age group.

Also, in 2017, the police in all states and UTs were investigating a total of 46,984 cases of rape. This indicates that several thousand cases were pending investigation from the previous years.

In 2017, there were 331 cases across the country of rape and gang rape victims also being murdered.

The NCRB data also shows that 93.1% of all rape and sexual assault victims were attacked by known people, including family members, neighbours, friends, employers and romantic partners. In 2017, “strangers” were accused in 2,289 cases.

However, the same NCRB report shows that only 43,197 persons were arrested for rape/sexual assault in 2017, and only 38,534 charge-sheeted and made to face trial.