A married Hindu woman was raped by a Muslim youth on December 16 in Barmer district of Rajasthan. The woman had gone for a medical checkup to a hospital in Balotra. On her way back home, she was followed by Gafar Khan, son of Jamal Khan. Seeing her alone in the house, Khan entered inside and raped her at knife point.

He then took nude photos of the woman, and threatened to make the images viral and also kill her husband if she complained to anyone.

When her husband returned, the lady told him about what had happened. The couple started living in tension because of the threats by the accused. On the intervening night of December 19 & 20, the husband hung himself to death.

On December 20, the woman lodged a complaint. DCP Neeraj Kumari Sharma said that the survivor’s medical examination has been completed. The accused Gafar Khan has been arrested and produced in front of a magistrate. He is being interrogated in police remand.

Such cases show that the police and our criminal justice system do not inspire trust in ordinary citizens. Why did this couple hesitate to approach police right after the rape? Was it because they feared the accused would either a) not be arrested b) be released on bail shortly after arrest? There have been umpteen cases of rape accused getting out on bail (see this, this) and taking revenge on the Hindu survivor or her family.

High Courts are allowing rape cases involving minor girls to be closed based on an alleged desire to ‘move on’ expressed by the survivor. Isn’t this giving a green signal to coercive and intimidatory tactics by accused?

Digital blackmail of rape survivors has become a favorite tactic of rapists and pedophiles – only a tech-savvy & responsive police and extraordinarily harsh punishment can act as an effective deterrent against this exploding epidemic. Our citizenry is crying for tough action, but will police and judiciary come out of their ivory towers and deliver?