Delhi’s rape graph goes up

NEW DELHI: On a day when prime minister Manmohan Singh expressed anguish over the safety of the girl child, the national capital was yet again witness to another rape case. As many as 14 cases of rape have been reported in Delhi in the last fortnight. The victims in most of these cases were minor girls.

On Monday, 23-year-old housewife Anita was allegedly raped by her brother-in-law law Ashok and his friends, Sunil and Manoj, at her residence in Outer Delhi on Sunday night. Anita’s husband was not at home and her children were sleeping when the incident took place. All three accused in the case have been arrested. Just in the past two days the national capital has witnessed four rape cases.

On Sunday, Class X student in Sangam Vihar was sexually assaulted by her brother-in-law. The accused was arrested on Monday.

A four-year old girl was admitted to a hospital on Sunday following an alleged rape
attempt by her paternal uncle in Mongolpuri area.

On April 24, a traffic cop and a property dealer raped a 12-year-old girl. The girl was a neighbour of the cop.

On April 13, a 12-year-old mentally challenged girl was allegedly raped by her neighbour. A day earlier, in an extremely shocking case, a three-year-old was raped by her neighbour. On April 11, it was a six-year old girl who was raped by a family friend.

What is most alarming is that in most of these cases, the accused is either related to the victim or is an acquaintance. About 98% of 581 rape cases registered in 2007, the accused were known to the victims and had been interacting with on a daily basis.
y_puneet@dnaindia.net