The murder of a 16-year-old girl by stabbing and beating in a public alley in India's capital on Sunday, May 28, sparked fresh outrage about the treatment of women in the country.
More than a minute of the assault was caught on surveillance video. It shows a 20-year-old man stabbing the victim more than 20 times and hitting her with a massive block of cement while others were passing by and doing nothing.
The victim's corpse was discovered on Sunday evening in the Rohini region of northern Delhi, near the Shahbad Dairy.
Police said the suspect and the victim were in a relationship and that a dispute between them led to the assault, as reported by The Indian Express.
'Crime of Passion'
On Monday afternoon, May 29, Indian authorities said they had apprehended a male called Sahil Khan in connection with the killing.
Ravi Kumar Singh, the Deputy Police Commissioner for Outer Delhi, informed reporters that Khan, a mechanic, had been caught in Bulandshahr, in the adjacent Uttar Pradesh state.
In an interview with the Indian news outlet Times Now, Delhi's Special Commissioner of Police Deependra Pathak said that the inquiry thus far leaned toward a "crime of passion."
Janak Raj, the girl's father, told CNN that when he saw his daughter's body lying on the ground, her skull was bashed in, and her organs were spilling out.
The fact that no one helped his daughter upsets him. Raj said the teenager may still be alive if the onlookers only helped her.
Raj said his daughter's tutoring helped contribute to the family's income. "I don't feel alive today. I miss her so much. She was such a good child," he sobbed.
Condemnation of Violence Against Women
This is the most recent in a string of slayings and rapes that have sparked debate about whether or not enough is being done to safeguard women in India and hold perpetrators accountable.
Delhi's Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, said on a Twitter post that criminals have lost all respect for the law and are increasingly brazen.
Delhi Commission for Women Chair Swati Maliwal told ANI she had never seen something so terrifying in her entire life. "Delhi has become extremely unsafe for women and girls," she stated.
Gender violence has been a persistent problem in India for a long time. According to a 2018 poll of gender equality experts conducted by the Thompson Reuters Foundation, India is the most dangerous country in the world for women to live in.
The number of crimes committed against women in India also appears to be on the rise. The National Crime Records Bureau of India reports that crimes committed against women increased by 20% in 2020 compared to 2013.
Since many types of violence against women, including rape, are routinely underreported, activists believe the true figures are likely simply the tip of the iceberg.
