New Delhi— The National Capital Territory of Delhi witnessed a spine-chilling incident of gang rape on May 1, 2023. The victim, a 45-year-old woman, was declared dead on Sunday, after six days in the ICU at Lok Nayak Hospital Delhi. The case was severely underreported and has serious loopholes in terms of police inquiry, hospital department handling, accountability, and justice provision.
The victim's family members have compared the incident to the notorious 'Nirbhaya Case,' although it did not receive the same coverage and support. The victim passed away while waiting for justice to be delivered.
The victim was a patient caretaker at GB Pant Hospital in Delhi, where she had been working for the past 15-16 years. She worked from 1 PM to 10 PM, according to her brother, who spoke with The Mooknayak. After her husband passed away, she became the sole earning member of the family, which consists of her four children. The eldest child is around 17-19 years old, while the other three are younger.
On the night of May 1, the victim was returning home from the hospital after finishing her shift when she was abducted by a group of men. They hit her with a blunt object, rendering her unconscious. She was then gang-raped, brutally tortured, and had a rod-like object inserted into her privately, tearing apart her intestines, as stated by the victim's son.
The victim's family received a call from the police the next morning and were summoned to the Lok Nayak Hospital. They were informed that it was an accident case. When the victim's family arrived, they were initially not allowed to see her. Later, when the victim was taken to the operation theatre, her son was allowed to meet her briefly. In her half-conscious state, she revealed that the perpetrator was also a worker at GB Pant Hospital and that she knew him well. He had been molesting her, and she couldn't say anything further, as recounted by her son.
The victim sustained severe injuries from the assault and was in critical condition. She underwent surgery but remained unconscious until her passing. Her family members were not allowed to visit her frequently. The doctors at Lok Nayak Hospital informed the victim's son that her private parts were completely damaged as a result of the assault.
Delhi Police didn’t take any action on the gangrape incident as the victim’s family claimed. The victim’s son said, “I went to the police station with 5 friends of mine to ask for registering an FIR in the case but Delhi Police threatened me and asked my friends to move out of the station otherwise they will arrest them.”
The victim's son also claimed that after several attempts of pressurizing police to take cognizance of the case, police officers visited the hospital but still haven’t recorded any statements in the case and no FIR copy was provided to us.
The Mooknayak reached out to the victim’s sister who lives in a village in Kanpur Uttar Pradesh. She was aware of the developments and said, “Our family members went to police stations multiple times with applications for filing an FIR but no action has been taken by the police department in this matter.”
“We have heard that she passed away on the 2nd of May but was kept in ICU and nobody was allowed to meet her,” said the victim’s younger sister.
The victim’s elder sister who lives in Delhi told The Mooknayak that the family only demands justice now. “We have lost our family member but now we want justice for her, police should have been empathetic in this matter since the beginning but they were threatening us.”
The case comes under the jurisdiction of the IP Estate Police Station. The Mooknayak reached out to IP Estate Police Station SHO over the phone and asked for an update on the case to which he replied, “The FIR has been registered and the prime accused has been arrested.” After this, he was asked why the family is not provided with a copy of an FIR and they are not aware of the arrested person to which the phone line got disconnected. The Mooknayak tried reaching out to IP Estate SHO again but he remained unavailable for any further comment.
Sources claim that the main perpetrator is a worker at GB Pant Hospital and holds an influential position in monetary terms which is why this matter went underreported as the perpetrator may have met with the police to bury the matter.
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