Dangerous Trend Emerging: After Hyderabad & Unnao, Bihar Woman Set Ablaze For Resisting Rape

The trend of setting women ablaze seems to be growing like an epidemic in India, Criminals are using this as a weapon to silence the victims of sexual assault.

After Hyderabad and Unnao cases that left the nation in utter shock, a woman has been admitted to a hospital in Muzaffarpur in Bihar after she was allegedly set ablaze by a man at her house in Nazirpur village on Dec 7. A man has been arrested, based on the victim¡¯s mother's statement. Police say "Haven't been able to take woman's statement yet. Investigation on.

Bihar: A woman admitted to a hospital in Muzaffarpur after she was allegedly set ablaze by a man at her house in Nazirpur village on Dec 7. A man has been arrested,based on woman's mother's statement. Police say "Haven't been able to take woman's statement yet. Investigation on." pic.twitter.com/pEyB9CkpTt

¡ª ANI (@ANI) December 8, 2019

The young woman was allegedly set on fire by a neighbour after she resisted his attempt to rape her. The 23-year-old victim, who suffered 50 per cent burns in the incident, was currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in the Muzaffarpur town.

Based on a complaint filed by her mother with Ahiyapur police station, the accused has been arrested, Station House Officer (SHO) Vikas Rai was quoted as saying by PTI. According to the complaint, the woman was alone at home on Saturday, when the accused, who lived close by, sneaked into her house and tried to rape her.

REUTERS

Her mother -- who works at a primary health centre -- rushed home and took her to a hospital after a local informed her about the incident. This incident comes less than a week after charred bodies of two women, set afire after suspected rape and murder, were found in Buxar and Samastipur districts.

In another village in Ahiyapur police station area, the body of an eight-year-old girl was found on Friday - stuffed in a bag and dumped in an orchard after suspected sexual assault.

There is little debate about whether or not the safety of women should be guaranteed in a free and just society but expectations on these lines have long remained a distant dream for half of our population. While rape and sexual violence are in themselves heinous crimes, the use of force against the victim robs them of the little chances of justice that they have been denied.

BCCL

There have been numerous instances of rape and crimes of sexual violence in India for long but these have spiked recently to perhaps unprecedented proportions in several parts of India. On November 27, a veterinary doctor was raped and set ablaze by four truck drivers and cleaners near a toll gate in the southern city of Hyderabad. Her charred body was found a day after she went missing and this has resulted in protests and outrage across the country. The nation was yet grieving her loss but this was not the only incident.

Even as women and civil rights groups have been expressing their anger, the plight seems to know no end as a new trend has emerged wherein the victim is being attacked, killed, thrown acid upon, and worse still burnt alive.

The Hyderabad case thrust it in the mainstream and showed to us the levels of brutality that the alleged rapists were willing to go to crush and suppress the voice of the victim. In another sheer act of vengeance, a rapist, who was released on bail a few days back, brutally attacked a couple in Kota, leaving them critically injured. It is believed that the incident was the fallout of the wife filing a rape complaint against the accused.

After the Hyderabad horrors, an almost similar episode repeated itself in Uttar Pradesh¡¯s Unnao, which was last in news for a rape accused politician suppressing the voice of the victim in quite the same fashion. The Unnao victim had suffered more than 90 per cent burns and later succumbed to injuries. These have resulted in volatile protests on social media on end whereas on the other hand, similar episodes continue to reappear.

It also points to a systematic failure as most of the victims who are being attacked have already registered rape complaints. The question that rises then is why haven¡¯t we been able to provide safety to these complainants and how come the morale of the offenders are so boosted that they are willing to use extreme force against the victim despite their complaints.

It is a time for reflection for all of us as a society, to understand and value the place women have not just in our society at large but in each of our lives. And it is equally binding upon the governments and authorities to protect these rights to help build a healthy and equal society.