A Delhi court rejected the bail plea of a 55-year-old woman accused in the rape and assault of a young woman, who was also smeared with black ink and paraded on the streets in Shahdara in broad daylight.
Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra in an order passed on February 24, said the “shameful” incident occurred in a busy residential area, yet nobody came forward to rescue the assault survivor, which is a “black spot” on our society.
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On January 26, the woman was abducted, allegedly gangraped by her neighbours, and paraded on the streets. The accused also allegedly assaulted her with weapons and blackened her face. A video of the incident recorded by the accused had gone viral on social media. According to police, the family held her responsible for the death of one of their relatives — a teenager who was allegedly stalking the woman and proposed to her, which she rejected.
The court noted that the “prosecutrix/victim has specifically named the applicant in the FIR and has narrated her role in the incident”.
Calling the allegations grave in nature, the court said, “There are independent witnesses who have given their statements regarding the incident. The shameful incident occurred in broad daylight in a busy residential area, and nobody came forward to rescue the victim, which is a black spot on the face of our society.”
The Additional Public Prosecutor opposed the bail application by submitting that the applicant actively participated in the incident, and that the allegations against her are “grave and serious in nature and investigation is at initial stage”.
The lawyer for the accused argued that “she is not seen in any video clipping which has been seized by the Investigating Officer (IO) and also [went] viral on social media”.