On April 26, an 18-year-old dalit woman was allegedly gang raped by five men at the Thanagazi area of Alwar district. The horrendous incident took place in broad day light when the woman and her husband were passing the Thanagazi highway.
The group assaulted the woman’s husband and raped her in front of him. The assailants not only filmed the incident but also threatened the couple to not file a complaint with any competent authority. The couple was also blackmailed by the assailants who demanded ransom for not uploading the video on social media.
The couple filed a complaint at a police station in Alwar district on May 2. According to the FIR filed by the woman, “She and her husband was forcefully stopped by the group of men who later took them to the hillocks of sand and took turns to rape her while her husband was assaulted by the same group.”
“They filmed the act and threatened to kill my husband and also make the video viral before leaving us,” added the complainant.
However, even days after receiving the complaint from the woman, the police failed to take any action against the accused. Meanwhile, sensing that the couple has filed a complaint to the police, the accused uploaded the video on internet. Police registered the FIR only after the video went viral on social media and tried to justify this delay in investigation by claiming that they were overloaded with work due to the Lok Sabha elections.
Responding to the incident, on Tuesday, May 7, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said, “The state government is committed for women’s safety. Police teams have been formed to arrest the accused. The woman and her family will be provided with enough protection by the police.”
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on alleged gang-rape in Alwar: I'm taking this case seriously, state DGP himself is monitoring the case & culprits will be punished. pic.twitter.com/qifcf3twpR
— ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2019
Condemning the delay in the investigation, the Rajasthan government suspended the Alwar SP Rajiv Pachar on Tuesday night. The SHO of Thanagazi police station, Sardar Singh was also suspended along with four other policemen. The additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajeeva Swarup said, “The SP has been removed and put under the Awaiting Posting Order status till further orders.” The state government has also released an interim relief of Rs. 4.12 lakh for the survivor.
Meanwhile, the residents of Thanagazi took out a protest march demanding justice for the woman and arrest of all accused.
However, in a recent development, the police have arrested three of the five accused—Indraraj Gurjar, Ashok and Mukesh, who are all Gujjars, a dominant caste in the area. Inspector General of Police, S Sengathir said that the police have set up 14 teams to arrest the accused.
Along with charges of rape, the accused have also been slapped with SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The police are yet to arrest two more accused, belonging to the same community. “Two rape accused are absconding. Mukesh shot the video and uploaded it on social media. He has been arrested under the IR Act,” added the IG.
