Gang-rape victim discharged from Mumbai hospital
Print Edition
A YOUNG photographer gang-raped in Mumbai last week in an attack that sparked outrage has been discharged from hospital, staff said yesterday.
The 22-year-old woman was assaulted while she was on assignment for a magazine in central Mumbai with a male colleague, who was tied up and beaten, police say.
The woman was admitted to the city’s Jaslok Hospital with internal and external injuries after the attack last Thursday evening. “She was discharged,” a hospital official said, adding that she was now at home.
Also yesterday police took the five arrested suspects in the case to the crime scene at an abandoned mill compound for a reconstruction of events, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Police arrested them within three days of the incident that shocked Mumbai, a city which has long been considered one of the safer cities for Indian women.
The case had stark parallels with the fatal gang-rape in December of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi, which ignited nationwide protests and led to a toughening of the law against rape.
The family of the photographer in Mumbai released a statement at the weekend saying they were “optimistic” their daughter’s case would be fast-tracked and the “severest of punishments” would be imposed on those responsible for the rape.
In the wake of the attack, Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh sparked anger by suggesting city residents need to choose between a “promiscuous culture” that allows kissing in public, or a city that is made safe by “moral policing.” During a phone-in for viewers on Tuesday over safety concerns, police commissioner Singh told the NDTV news channel that a “balance” was needed and that people were “confused” over the kind of society they wanted.
“That is why I’m asking whether on one hand couples should be allowed to kiss in public and on the road, should they be allowed to indulge in obscene things?” he said. “On the one hand you want to have a promiscuous culture and on the other hand you want a safe and secure environment for the people.”
Mumbai police have come under fire in recent times for so-called “moral policing,” such as raiding bars and restaurants to enforce outdated regulations on drinking and entertainment.
Police in and around the city have also faced criticism for targeting unmarried couples or single women out late instead of potential sexual predators.
In May, the city council proposed banning lingerie-clad mannequin dummies in shops and markets for fear they could encourage sex crime.
“I don’t understand the media and these so-called activists. They start criticizing the police on moral policing. Should we do moral policing or immoral policing? I think choice is yours,” Singh said.
The city Mid Day newspaper chided the “faux pas” yesterday, with the headline: “And this man’s job is to protect us!”
The police chief’s comments also angered Mumbai residents on Twitter.
“How will Mumbai’s women be ever safe with a regressive patriarch like Satyapal Singh as Chief of Police?” asked one user.
“It’s the police’s job to ensure a safe/secure environment for people — promiscuity is irrelevant,” said another.
Sex crimes have continued across India despite the national outrage and protests sparked by the fatal gang-rape of another woman in New Delhi in December.
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