6 men arrested in 2nd bus rape in North India

Following vicious attack on 23 year old medical student in Delhi on December 16, 2012 rapes across north India are continuing unabated. The most recent case is of seven men who took a 29 year old married woman to a secluded sport and gang raped her. She was later dumped near her in laws village next morning when she reported the crime to the police.

Reports state that 6 of the 7 men have admitted to their crime in preliminary investigations while the 7th suspect is still absconding. The victim in question was travelling to her in laws home in Gurdaspur district in Punjab when she was abducted and driven to Amritsar. Five men joined the driver and conductor of the bus on the night of 11th January, 2013 as the woman was taken on a motorbike to an unidentified place while the seven men took turns in raping the hapless victim.

Number of reported rape cases in India, a country where cultural stigma makes many rape victims shy away from reporting the crime has seen drastic increase in recent times. Statistics reveal that reported rape cases which stood at 2487 in 1971 have risen to 24,206 in 2011. Most women in India have stories to tell of sexual harassment or abuse in public transportation systems, or on the streets, and it is high time the government comes up with stronger laws against such forms of sexual harassment.