In the early hours of January 22, a 19-year-old woman was reportedly gangraped by four individuals in Govandi, Mumbai, the police informed.
About the incident:
According to the police, the incident took place around 4.30 am in a slum at Matti Road while the woman was returning from her work where she worked with some caterers. Finding her all alone the accused said that they had something to talk about. Hereafter, she was taken to to a loft in a room at a slum, where he raped her along with his friends. Soon after the heinous deed, the four accused fled from the place where the incident took place. The victim then called the police and informed the legal authorities about the incident.
The operation:
The authorities informed that as many as 10 police teams were consigned to Vajreshwari, Mumbra, Vashi, Belapur, Wadala, CSMT, LT Marg, Mumbai Central railway stations, he said. Two of the accused were tracked with the help of technical inputs while they were trying to flee to Basti in Uttar Pradesh by train this afternoon.
Current scenario:
The Police saidthat an FIR has been registered by them under section 376 (rape) and other relevant provisions of the IPC. So far three minors have been apprehended by the Police who are said to be involved in the attack that took place in the Shivaji Nagar area. Besides, a search operation has been launched by the legal authorities to find out the fourth individual involved.
Rape in India:
According to the 2019 annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 32033 rape cases were registered across the country, or an average of 88 cases daily, slightly lower than 2018 when 91 cases were registered daily. The report says that rape is the fourth most common crime against women in India.
Rape by juveniles remained high in India with 3 minors being arrested for rape, assault and attempted violence on women and girls each day in 2019.
However, the willingness to report rapes have increased in recent years, after several incidents received widespread media attention and triggered local and nationwide public protests.