The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar urging them to suspend today’s Parliamentary business to discuss women's safety issues on the 10th anniversary of Nirbhaya gang rape.
Nirbhaya was assaulted on moving bus in Delhi
The physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya' (fearless), was sexually assaulted in a moving bus in south Delhi on December 16, 2012. She died a fortnight later.
Six people, including a juvenile, were named as accused.
While the juvenile was released in 2015 after spending three years in a correctional home, four convicts were hanged on March 20, 2020. Ram Singh, the sixth accused, allegedly killed himself in Tihar Jail days after the trial began in the case.
Two minor girls were raped every day last year in the national capital, which was the most unsafe metropolitan city for women across the country, according to NCRB data.
Delhi also recorded 13,892 cases of crimes against women in 2021, a significant surge of more than 40 per cent compared to 2020 when the figure was 9,782, the data showed.
Barely two days ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Nirbhaya incident, a 17-year-old girl was attacked with acid by two masked motorcycle-borne men in west Delhi's Mohan Garden with police arresting the three accused in connection with the incident.
Nirbhaya's father talks about the attack
When asked about the attack, Nirbhaya's father said, "When young girls face such attacks, it is sad. What was her fault? She was going to school. Her life has been spoilt".
The parents further said they are still haunted by the memories of the incident and what their daughter has to suffer before succumbing to injuries.
"People say that time heals everything, but the pain has not gone away. Nobody knows how long will young girls contoinue to face such situations," she said, while hitting out at authorities.
"I don't think any change has come. Even today, we are in the same situation as 2012," Devi said.
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