सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने दिल्ली-एनसीआर में बढ़ते बलात्कार मामलों पर स्वयं पहल की, 2012 निंदराय केस की याद दिलाते हुए

India'Painful parallels with 2012 Nirbhaya case': SC takes suo motu cognisance of rising rape cases in Delhi-NCR

The top court said public spaces, including parks, buses, cannot be permitted to become zones of high risk due to lack of illumination, poor surveillance and other administrative facilities.

The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognizance of recent cases of rape in Delhi-NCR, including a gangrape in a park and the alleged gang-rape of a 16-year-old Class 11 student from Uttar Pradesh inside a moving sleeper bus, saying one cannot help but draw “painful parallels” with the 2012 Nirbhaya incident.

A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran observed that they were distressed by the news reports regarding recurring sexual offences in the National Capital Region, and stressed the need to fix accountability.

The Bench said such incidents starkly highlight failures in law enforcement and raise serious concerns about the safety of women and children. The matter was taken up by the apex court on its own following reports of the alleged crime.

"The reports of rape cases in Delhi-NCR starkly underline a systematic failure on the part of the law enforcement and the public administrative authorities to guarantee basic public safety," the bench said.

The top court said public spaces, including parks, buses, cannot be permitted to become zones of high risk due to lack of illumination, poor surveillance and other administrative facilities.

The bench said that the statements made by elected representatives expressing concerns and solidarity are not enough, and said accountability had to be fixed for failures that contributed to such incidents.

“Expressions of solidarity devoid of accountability fall short of answering the larger institutional question. Expressing solidarity is not a solution to this social evil. What is required is a measurable response with the responsibility and accountability fixed upon authorities entrusted with the prevention of crimes, maintenance of public order and protection of vulnerable persons," the bench observed.

On September 21, a 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three men at Aastha Kunj Park near Kalkaji Mandir in southeast Delhi, with the accused allegedly posing as police personnel before taking her to a secluded part of the park.

According to police, the teenager had visited Kalkaji Mandir with her 17-year-old male friend. The two later entered Aastha Kunj Park through Gate No. 7 at around 7.30 pm and sat on a bench.

Three men, aged between 25 and 30, allegedly approached them and claimed to be police personnel. They questioned the two teenagers and allegedly used legal terminology to intimidate them before separating the girl from her friend.

The accused allegedly took the girl to a secluded area, where one of them threatened her with a pistol and knife. The three men allegedly sexually assaulted her before fleeing the spot.Police arrested all three accused, including one after an exchange of fire.

On August, another teenager was allegedly assaulted after she sought help from the driver and conductor of an empty bus during heavy rain.

The girl, who was travelling from Mainpuri to Noida to meet her cousin, had got off at Pari Chowk after mistakenly alighting there amid heavy rain and poor visibility. She later flagged down the bus and boarded it after the conductor told her that it was headed towards Noida Sector 63.

According to police sources, the conductor allegedly made inappropriate advances towards her soon after the bus began moving. The driver and conductor then allegedly sexually assaulted the teenager and threatened her with dire consequences if she resisted.

The accused allegedly abandoned the girl near the Kashmere Gate bus terminal later that night and fled.

The teenager subsequently approached Kashmere Gate police, who arranged for her medical examination in the presence of a woman police personnel.

An FIR was registered based on her statement under relevant provisions relating to gang rape, kidnapping and assault.

Police teams examined CCTV footage and traced the bus and the accused. The conductor was arrested from a parking facility in Timarpur, while the bus was seized for forensic examination. Police have also collected CCTV footage and other evidence as part of the investigation.

Sources said the bus was returning empty after undergoing repairs at a workshop in Surajpur. After the repairs, the driver and conductor were travelling towards the Timarpur parking facility when they encountered the girl at Pari Chowk.

This is a developing story

The New Indian Express

www.newindianexpress.com

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