Indian police reported the arrest of at least 29 men on Thursday who are believed to be involved in the alleged gang-rape of a 15-year-old girl in the region, where the suspects supposedly committed the crime several times over a period of nearly eight months.
Junior officer Dinkar Mukne who was with the Mandapa police in the city of Dombivli said that the victim was first raped on Jan. 29, 2021. The crime was allegedly filmed where the video was used to blackmail the young girl to repeat the act up until recently. Officials said that an estimated 33 men were involved in the rape of the victim, including two teenagers.
15-Year-Old Gang-Raped by Dozens of Men
For the duration of the repeated crimes, the victim's family had no idea of their daughter's suffering and only recently discovered the truth. They quickly brought the 15-year-old victim to the police station and filed a complaint on Wednesday, said Mukne on Friday.
Police arrested 29 men under India's penal code and separately under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) law, which gave out harsher sentences of longer prison time, CNN reported.
"We are investigating the allegations and how the initial contact came about. But the girl knew some of the men and had come in contact with a few through social media," Senior police official Sonali Dhole, who was in charge of the investigation, said.
Dhole noted that the 15-year-old victim was brought to several locations within the city of Dombivli and multiple areas outside the region where the rapes took place. The recent incident is the latest in a series of horrific sexual assault crimes in India that has garnered widespread criticism of the government's failed responses.
The rape crimes allegedly involved the victim's boyfriend as one of the perpetrators of the horrific acts. The young girl's controversy is only one of many sexual assault crimes that have ravaged the nation since the infamous 2012 bus gang-rapes of a woman, only known as Nirbhaya, BBC reported.
Rising Number of Sexual Assault Crimes
In an attempt to curb the surge of sexual assault crimes, Indian authorities enforced strict laws throughout the years. However, the issue of these types of crimes continues to increase despite the increased scrutiny, leading many to express their discontent with the country's federal government.
Every year, India reports more than 32,000 rape cases, based on data released by the government in 2019, amid tightened rape laws. The numbers represent an average of four rapes every hour that continues to haunt the nation of nearly 1.4 billion residents. While the statistics are already a cause for concern, it only shows the number of reported cases and does not include sexual violence other than rape.
Earlier this month, a rape-slay case involving a 34-year-old woman was reported by authorities. The victim was allegedly raped and tortured with an iron rod, a case similar to the one that occurred in 2012. The incident sparked widespread criticism and protests that have made international headlines as residents call on justice and support for the victims of sexual abuse in the country, CBS News reported.
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