The 32-year-old woman, who was raped and brutally assaulted succumbed to her injuries on Saturday. The victim courageously fought for her life for continuous 36 hours in Rajwadi Hospital.
The heinous act took place inside a stationary tempo in suburban Mumbai’s Sakinaka in the early hours of Friday.
The accused first raped the woman and then inserted a rod in her private parts. Therefore, she was left in a critical condition. After assaulting the woman, the accused put her in a tempo and escaped. Later, a passerby later found the woman unconscious and in a pool of blood and informed the police.
Around 3:15 AM on Friday, a security guard near Chandivili studio called the police control room to inform about the incident. He alerted the Mumbai police and asked for their help.
Simultaneously, Sakinaka police reached the spot within 10 minutes. DCP (Zone X) Maheshwar Reddy informed that the woman was found bleeding profoundly and was in a critical condition. Hence, the police did not wait for an ambulance and decided to drive the victim to the hospital in a tempo.
Afterwards, the DCP confirmed that the woman finally gave up due to severe injuries. Also, due to her weak body, she couldn’t undergo multiple surgeries. According to the doctor’s report, the victim got a lacerated wound involving the vagina, anus and perineum.
Quick Action by the Sakinaka Police
Accordingly, the police quickly took action in a flash. They got hold of the CCTV footage of the incident within a short span. Hence, the footage helped to identify the accused and confirmed the assault.
Based on the CCTV footage, the police arrested 45-year-old Mohan Chouhan under Section 376 (Punishment for rape) and 307 (Attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He was produced in court and sent to police custody till September 21.
Furthermore, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed under Assistant Commissioner of Police Jyotsna Rasam to investigate the case. This will be tried in a fast-track court.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale confirmed that prima facie evidence revealed only one accused was involved in the crime. “An SIT has been formed to probe the case. Chief Minister has ordered fast track trial in the case. Unfortunately, the victim died during treatment this morning and we have converted section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to section 302 (murder). The probe revealed there’s only one person involved in the execution of the crime,” said Mr Nagrale.
Government ensures speedy investigation
A statement from Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s office decried the “shameful” and “highly condemnable” incident. He also vowed to ensure the strictest punishment for the accused.
“This incident is highly condemnable… it shames humanity. The accused will be given the harshest possible punishment and a fast-track court will handle the trial,” the statement said.
Additionally, Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik said, “We will make sure that the charge-sheet is filed within a given frame of time and the case is fast-tracked to bring the accused to justice.” Further, while he condoled the demise he added, “Fast track court should be set up for this case and there should be a punishment that warns people against committing such a heinous crime and also conveys the state government’s stand on it.”
Moreover, the BJP in Maharastra sought capital punishment for the accused. Also, it hid the Shiv-Sena led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government over women’s safety.
“I know the awarding sentence is in the hands of the judiciary. But I feel that the culprit should be hanged to death”, said Devendra Fadnavis. He also added, “The onus of this incident is entirely upon the state government because there is left no respect for laws. It is horrible to know the kind of pain that she had gone through. I am deeply anguished by her death. I cannot describe my feelings in words. It is not only shameful, but it has made me angry. The state needs to take some action.”
How Many More Nirbhayas?
In another part of the country, a 21-year-old woman was reportedly gang-raped and murdered in Haryana’s Faridabad. The woman, a civil defence officer, was reportedly picked up when she was returning from work in Lajpat Nagar, and her body was dumped after being gang-raped and murdered.
A man, who claimed to be the woman’s husband, surrendered at Kalindi Kunj police station, taking responsibility for the gruesome act.
The man said that he was suspicious of her character and hence murdered her.
Moreover, in Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra a 14-year-old girl was brutally raped by a 35-year-old man. The incident took in the railway station on Friday night.
Again, police arrested five men for gang-raping a 20-year-old woman in a car in Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram on Wednesday. The main accused had befriended the victim, an employee at a mobile shop, and used to meet her regularly at her workplace and conversed with her on social media.
The accused eventually introduced the victim to his friend. The two then promised the victim that they would get her a good job at a private company. On September 8, the victim was picked up by the main accused in a car and taken to a farmhouse in Kanchipuram. On the way to the farmhouse, the accused gave a soft drink laced with sedatives to the victim, who drank it.
After the woman lost consciousness, the main accused called over four friends who took turns to gangrape the victim inside the car.
