WOMEN – 2011 - Indian Social Institute

murder victims in the national capital are women. Last year, 519 murders were reported in the capital
while the figure was 527 for 2009, 528 (2008) and 467 (2007 and 2006), the police official said. This year
so far, 42 women were raped and 73 molested in the capital. In January, 17 cases of rape were reported
besides 29 molestation cases with police claiming that they have solved 95 per cent of rape cases and 83
per cent of molestation cases. In 2010, the city witnessed 489 rape incidents as against 2009's 459. The
figure for 2006 was 609 followed by a drop to 581 next year while in 2008 it further dipped to 466. Almost
similar was the case with molestation cases in the capital in these years but it showed an increase this
year to 585 from last year's 532. While 2008 had 597 cases, there were 835 incidents in 2007 wand 713
in 609. (Pioneer, 09/03/2011)
Delhi girl shot dead on Women’s Day
On a day when the city was celebrating International Women’s Day, a young girl was shot dead on
Tuesday outside a college in full public glare and an elderly woman strangled in her house in Delhi within
hours of the incident, exposing the vulnerability of the fair sex in the country’s capital. The two shocking
incidents caused outrage among citizens as well as political leaders, leading to a massive protest by
students. While the 21-year-old degree student’s murder is suspected to be the handiwork of a “stalker,”
the 70-year-old woman, whose lawyer-daughter is fighting for Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in the sensational
Aarushi murder case, was reportedly strangled during a robbery bid. Radhika Tanwar, a second-year
student, was shot dead outside Ramlal Anand College in the Dhaula Kuan Shantiniketan area around
10:20 am by an unidentified man who is believed to be trailing her for some time. She and her friends
crossed the road after alighting from a bus and used the foot overbridge to reach her college. As she
stepped down from the bridge, a man opened fire at her from behind and fled the scene. Police
immediately received a call about the incident and later another informing that a mobile phone had burst
near her ear. She was shot near the spinal cord below the neck. “There were around five students near
the scene of the crime but they did not realise what was happening. They thought that someone had burst
crackers. He (the culprit) deliberately chose that place because of the congestion and noise in the
atmosphere,” a senior police official said. Initially, nobody understood what happened. After a few
seconds they saw the girl collapsing with blood oozing from her body. Some people ran away from the
spot. Her friends and locals rushed her to Safdurjung Hospital in an autorickshaw. She was declared
brought dead by hospital doctors. The motive behind the incident is being investigated, the police official
said. They suspect the hand of a “stalker” in the murder. “We are investigating all angles. It could be a
case of a stalker committing the murder. But we cannot say anything now as the investigation is in the
initial stages,” he said. The second incident happened in East Delhi’s Vivek Vihar in the afternoon. Anna
Mammen, a retired teacher and the mother of lawyer Rebbeca Mammen John who is appearing for the
Talwars in the case, was alone at home when the attackers entered the house and attacked her, the
official said. Investigators suspect it to be a case of robbery-cum-murder as some articles were missing
from the house. They are, however, probing all angles. The girl’s family said she left home for college at
9:15 am. “She never told us she was facing problems. We don’t suspect anybody as of now,” Vipin, the
girl’s brother, said. Radhika’s father Rajender Singh, a property dealer, said: “I don’t know who could
have done this to my daughter. She had no enmity with anyone.” But Deputy Commissioner of Police H G
S Dhaliwal said; “It appears the girl was specifically targeted. The attacker appeared to be known to her
was trailing her.” Angry over the girl’s killing, a large number of students on Delhi University’s south
campus staged a protest demonstration against the lack of security for students and blocked Ring Road.
Some locals also joined the protest. This is the second incident involving a student’s death inside or just
outside the campus in the past about a month. On February 4, a 21-year-old BA student was found dead
under mysterious circumstances in Satyawati College in north-east Delhi’s Ashok Vihar with his family
alleging that he was murdered and hanged by the family of girl with whom he had a relationship. The girl’s
murder evoked strong reactions from MPs, including Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav,
who condemned the incident. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said it was a matter of shame that
women feel insecure in the national capital. Reacting to the murder, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s
wife Gursharan Kaur said crimes against women are a “cause for concern”. National Commission for
Women Chairperson Girija Vyas and CPM Politburo member Brinda Karat wondered why such incidents
were recurring. Karat said, “It is a very sad incident. The incident took place when we are talking about
women empowerment and celebrating Women’s Day.” (Deccan herald, 09/03/2011)
Woman denied bed, delivers in open in Surat