Police ask humiliating questions to rape victim.
A shocking investigative report published by Al Jazeera shows that rape videos are being freely sold in shops in Uttar Pradesh. The videos shot on mobile phones in which the faces of women are clearly seen are sold for Rupees 20 to 200.
The report says that the videos are shared through apps like Whats App and some are shared online. The videos are shot for blackmailing the victims by threatening to make it public. But the sellers of are not concerned about the videos that are freely circulated.
Known as local films and Whats App sex videos, these are sold mainly in Meerut and surrounding areas. The shopkeepers are, however, cautious about selling the videos. It is difficult for a person residing outside the locality to purchase one as “there are watchwords in the trade – akin to a secret handshake,” says the report.
The biggest irony in the issue is that the people who purchase the videos consider it as pornography. A man from Saharanpur in Western UP told the investigation team that he buys “pornography” from nearby villages that give him peace of mind.
Though the police have the primary responsibility of taking action against the racket, they claim to be helpless as they do not have any clue about the people behind it. District Inspector General of Police for Saharanpur Range, AK Shahi even asked Al Jazeera, “Rape video… ye kya hota hai (Rape video, what is this)?”
Many women have committed suicide in recent times after their rape video were circulated online. The victim of a gang-rape had killed herself recently in Chapar village, Muzaffarnagar, for the same reason. “I don’t doubt that many of them [the women in such rape videos] might have resorted to committing suicide,†a rape victim says in the report.
Al Jazeera, in a follow-up blog post, said, “as for the material we acquired in the course of our investigation, we have destroyed all digital copies used to render the very select images we included in the article. And, in an effort to protect the women and girls from further victimization, the footage our reporter found in India will be turned over to the appropriate anti-rape and women’s rights advocacy groups.”
In the meanwhile, another report from Kerala seems to be more shocking as police officers asked humiliating questions to a rape victim in an effort to make her withdraw the complaint.
A 32-year-old woman who was allegedly raped by the friends of her husband said the police officers asked her humiliating questions forcing her to withdraw the complaint.
“Among the four, who gave you the most pleasure?†the woman quoted a police officer as saying. She spoke at a press conference convened in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.
She alleged that the CPM leader from Thrissur district Jayanthan was among the rapists. According to the woman, Jayanthan was her husband’s friend. One day, Jayanthan along with some others came to her home and lied that her husband met with an accident and asked her to go with them to the hospital.
They took her to a secluded house and took turns to rape her. They filmed the entire incident and threatened to make it public if she filed a complaint. But, she had to suffer more humiliation after filing the complaint.
“They threatened to kill my children if I spoke out the truth. When the magistrate asked me if there was any pressure on me, I cried,†she said. She was forced to withdraw the complaint and “was taught the forged version of statement at the police station.â€
The incident happened two years back came to light through a Facebook post of well-known Malayalam dubbing artist Bhagyalakshmi who accompanied the woman in the press meet.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Director General of Police Loknath Behra have assured that strict action would be taken against the accused. The media cell of the chief minister has requested Bhagyalakshmi to submit details of the incident.