India shocked by six-year-old girl's brutal rape

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As India’s Supreme Court reviewed on Tuesday the case of one of the men sentenced to death for raping a student on a Delhi bus in 2012, shocking new incidents were already competing for headlines, signaling that the situation has changed little in the past five years.

Jyoti Singh, a 23-year-old medical student, died of her injuries two weeks after she was beaten and raped by six men on a moving bus in New Delhi on December 16, 2012.

Four men were eventually arrested, charged and sentenced to death for what the Supreme Court described as "a barbaric crime" that "has shaken the society’s conscience."

The case shocked the world and spurred massive protests in India as people demanded better legislation, justice for sexual assault victims, and better treatment for women.

Activists shout slogans in front of Uttar Pradesh Bhawan in New Delhi on May 31, 2014, against the gang-rape and death of two teenage girls in Budaun district. /VCG Photo

Five years on however, new cases are making headlines in India.

Over the weekend, a six-year-old girl was brutally raped and tortured in a village in northern Haryana state, not far from New Delhi.

Her battered body was found near her parents’ home, not long after she was reported missing. The medical examiner said she died of internal injuries after being violently raped, including with a long wooden stick, Indian media reports said.

The girl was believed to have been abducted from her home.

Police have set up a special investigating team but the suspects have not yet been identified, let alone arrested.

An Indian woman looks at posters exhibited during a program commemorating the December 2012 fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old New Delhi student, in Ahmedabad on December 16, 2013. /VCG Photo

The villagers have meanwhile threatened protests if nothing is done. Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala also slammed the local government for "sleeping while incidents of rape and murder take place every other day."

Local authorities have now promised that the suspects would be arrested within 48 hours, Indian media reports said.

The case in Haryana followed hot on the heels of another one in northern Lucknow on Saturday where a 15-year-old girl was reportedly gang-raped by two teenagers and then again raped by a passer-by whom she had gone to for help.

The passer-by has been arrested but the two other suspects, whom the victim knew, were still on the run, media reports said.

Two accused of the Delhi bus gang-rape, Akshay Thakur (L) and Pawan Gupta (R), are brought to Delhi High Court for a hearing on September 24, 2013 in New Delhi, India. /VCG Photo

A recent report by India’s National Crime Records Bureau said there were 38,947 reported cases of rape in 2016 – equivalent to about four every hour. This was up from 20,737 in 2007.

Even more tellingly, the report listed 19,920 instances of child rape last year, up from 10,934 in 2015.

"More than the increase in crime rate, it is (an) increase in reporting," Flavia Agnes, a women’s rights lawyer and co-founder of Majlis, an organization providing legal aid to women, told news site IndiaSpend.

"Due to media pressure on certain brutally violent incidents, there is greater awareness, and women are coming forward to report crimes," she said.

A protester at a demonstration against rape in Hyderabad, India on September 13, 2013. /VCG Photo

The overall situation however was far from positive, according to Sukanya Gupta of Swayam, a Kolkata-based women’s rights organization helping women who are victims of violence.

"I can’t say that it has improved. There is legislation but various incidents take place almost every day in various part of the country," Gupta told CGTN in a phone interview.

"Legislation is there, laws are in place but we are looking for implementation of the laws so that timely action is taken and incidents are highlighted."

As the Supreme Court heard a review petition by one of the four men sentenced to death over the 2012 Delhi rape, debate over the latest cases was raging on Twitter.

"India is more upset that kids have to find out about condoms and safe sex than about rape and harassment. No wonder the latter is more socially acceptable," said one user, Sheena, after India on Monday imposed restrictions on TV condom ads, judging them "inappropriate" for children.

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