Public murder of teen sparks outrage in India

Editor’s note: this story contains details about the consequences of a violent crime

A 16-year-old girl was brutally stabbed and beaten to death in a busy public alley in India’s capital on Sunday, sparking outrage over the safety of women in the country and violence perpetrated by men.

Video of the crime, which lasted more than a minute and was captured by a security camera, shows several people walking nearby as the assailant repeatedly strikes the victim.

Only a man appears trying to intervene. He tries to pull the assailant away from the victim before quickly retreating.

The body of the victim, who has not been identified, was found on Sunday night in the Shahbad Dairy area of ​​Rohini district in north Delhi, where the crime took place.

On Monday afternoon, Indian police said they had arrested a suspect named Sahil in connection with the murder.

Sahil is a mechanic and was arrested in Bulandshahr in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh, Ravi Kumar Singh, deputy police commissioner for Outer Delhi, told reporters on Monday.

Delhi Police Special Commissioner Deependra Pathak told the Indian news channel Times Now that the initial investigation pointed to a so-called “crime of passion”.

“I saw that my daughter was lying on the floor, face down on the floor,” said the girl’s father, Janak Raj, to the CNN . “His organs came out and his head was crushed. She lay there lifeless. It made no sense to take her to the hospital.”

“It pisses me off that nobody helped my daughter,” he added. “If they had helped her, she would be alive today. I also heard that viewers were busy recording videos. Even if they had screamed, it would have helped my daughter.”

Raj said his daughter helped with the family’s finances by tutoring. “I don’t feel alive today,” he said through his tears. “I miss her so much. She was such a good kid. What I’ll do?”.

The crime is the latest in a long string of murders and rapes that have sparked anger over whether enough is being done to protect women in India and punish perpetrators.

“A minor is brutally murdered in public in Delhi,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote on Twitter. “This is very sad and regrettable. Criminals have become fearless and there is no more fear of the police.”

“The safety of the people of Delhi is of paramount importance,” he added.

Swati Maliwal, president of the Deli Commission for Women, told ANI who has never seen such a frightening incident. “Delhi has become extremely unsafe for women and girls,” she added.

India has long struggled to deal with gender-based violence. A 2018 Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of women’s issues experts ranked the country as the most dangerous place in the world for women.

The frequency of crimes against women in India also appears to be increasing. According to data from India’s National Crime Records Bureau, crimes against women were 20% higher in 2020 compared to 2013 – the last year before the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power.

Activists say the actual statistics are likely just the tip of the iceberg, as many forms of violence against women, such as rape, are often underreported.

Yogita Bhayana, founder of People Against Rapes in India, said the problem is largely rooted in ancient social norms.

“We have learned to live with this kind of situation in our country, which is very regrettable,” Bhayana told the CNN . “The basic patriarchal fabric is totally rotten and now we need to fix that.”

“Putting in cameras and lookouts will not be enough,” he added. “The work has to be done in the mentality of men and boys”.