Two cases within a week in India disclosed women is an easy target for revenge and question women safety

On December, a mob of 100 young men kidnapped a 24 year old girl in a broad daylight from her home in Adibatla area of Ranga Reddy district in Telangana. A video went viral of an armed group vandalizing M Vaishali Reddy’s (victim) house. The mob barged into their house and forcibly took Vaishali away. The victim’s parents have also been attacked. According to the information, Accused has a franchise of a branded tea store and Vaishali is a student pursuing dentistry and was abducted few hours before her engagement. The whole matter is said to be a revenge of rejection. Telangana Police has arrested sixteen men on several charges under sections of IPC including of kidnapping, attempt to murder, trespass etc. But the main accused is still out of catch.

The video clearly shows men destroying car of the family and later can be seen beating father of the victim. Parents complained of not receiving instant help from the Police. Whereas police started search operation after the disturbing visual went viral. Woman was beaten up and threatened after the kidnapping, later was rescued after 5 hours. Vaishali met accused Naveen Reddy on a badminton court and had become close. Her father in a given statement said, Naveen proposed Vaishali through mediators but she rejected the proposal. Meanwhile Naveen went with his workers claiming, they had married but her parents changed her mind. All the claims were denied by victim’s family.

Revenge over rejection is a repeated scenario we hear or read. Women being a vulnerable target suffer mainly. Acid attacks, murder, kidnapping, sexual assault are the common incidents in India. With the increasing number of crimes, the definition of love needs to be redefined that comprehends respect and consent. Shalini is a NGO worker and has studied various cases that involve crimes of love. She commented on the Telangana incident and said, ‘This is very common in India that when a woman rejects a proposal, either that man responds with violence or forcibly try to convince her. This is very shameful to the society and for the specific gender that instead respecting the decision, one tend to show masculinity to overpower her. Thankfully, she is rescued but she must be under trauma and nobody deserves it.’    

Shalini discussed the psychology behind an accused for doing such crimes. She told EAT news, ‘Society has provided so much comfort, privilege and a higher position than any other gender to the males, that they have developed an ego like no one else. When somebody hurts that ego, their instant solution becomes revenge. Being a dominant section of the society they do not have fear of law and are convinced other genders are comparatively weak, physically and mentally.’ Trauma of post incident could lead to severe depression considering the accused is still not under arrest. ‘More than 70 per cent of the women in India are going through depression either after domestic abuse, domestic violence or other reasons. Considering the fact that the accused is still walking free, makes difficult for the victim to cope up. Personally, I have witnessed female victims trying to cope up with a trauma that simply takes a year or more than that but in some cases where the criminal has got bail or released or is still not arrest, puts the victim under fear of going through repeated circumstances’, said Shalini.

Telangana case is still under investigation and Mahesh Bagwath, Rachakonda Police Commissioner in a statement given to the media said, ‘A group of 16 people have been arrested under attempt to murder, kidnapping, criminal trespass. The victim was rescued within six hours. We will ensure a fast track trail and conviction for sure.’ It is said that previous offence of the accused will be taken into account during the inquiry.

A similar case of acid attack was reported on 11 December in the capital. Two masked men on a bike attacked with acid a 17 year old girl while she was walking to her school. She was with her sister and later was rushed to the hospital. Victim is under treatment with 7-8% facial burns that affected her eyesight. According to the information, girl never complained of any harassment or stalking that could hint her parents of the suspects. Complete incident has been recorded under CCTV camera that led police to arrest three men including victim’s neighbor within hours. Chief Minister of New Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, ‘This is absolutely not tolerable. How did the criminals get so much courage?  Criminals should be punished strictly. Security of each girl in Delhi is important to us.’

Two cases within a week is an alarming situation for Indians and administration. Stricter laws are needed, and so does active police forces because escalation in crime rates against women in India could question ruling political party and its seat in further elections.