The victim, who had been married for just two months, recounted the traumatic experience. She asked people gathered there to give a phone to call for help, but was rebuffed.

In #UttarPradesh‘s #Aligarh, a 22 year old girl named #Sultana was eve teased and molested by half a dozen men in #DelhiAligarhTrain, when her husband raised objection he was beaten by the miscreants, and instead of arresting the eve teasers police arrested her husband.. pic.twitter.com/ZevbEXHqEx

— Hate Detector (@HateDetectors) November 15, 2024

The attackers even assaulted her husband with belts at Aligarh Railway Station, right in front of her and her in-laws. To make matters worse, the assailants threatened the victim with a gun. She alleged that a group of other people also joined in beating him up further.

People remained mute spectator, Police chosen selective action

The woman said that, “The goons began staring at me as soon as the train left Delhi. When I objected, they tried to touch me. My husband stepped in to defend me, but he was attacked. Despite my pleas for help, other passengers just watched silently” as Times of India reported,

Relatives of the couple soon arrived at the station and staged a protest in response to the incident. Following the public outcry, the GRP released the husband and registered a case at Aligarh GRP Police Station against the attackers. Police confirmed that one of the accused, Jitu Singh, a resident of Usmanpur Khandauli in Agra, has been arrested. However, three others, including Mahesh from Singh Kuberpur, remain at large, while two more suspects have yet to be identified.

Notably, GRP SHO Shailendra Yadav confirmed that a case had been registered following the victim’s husband’s complaint. The charges include Section 74 (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), Section 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt), and Section 352 (insult that provokes a breach of peace) of BNS, 2023. The couple, married just two months ago, had travelled from Delhi to Aligarh to attend a family wedding. The husband, who runs a clothing business, has been living in Delhi since their marriage.

Alarming rise in anti-Muslim attacks in Train

There has been a concerning surge in attacks on Muslim passengers on trains in recent years. This disturbing trend is exemplified by several incidents, including, in August, 2024, an elderly Muslim man was brutally beaten by fellow passengers on a train near Nashik district, Maharashtra, in September, 2024,  a group of Madrasa students traveling in a general coach were assaulted by two allegedly intoxicated assailants in route to Mumbai.

In July 2023, a shocking incident occurred on the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express, where a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable, Chetan Singh, fatally shot four individuals, including an Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) and three Muslim passengers, near Palghar Railway Station in Mumbai Suburbs.

Related:

Uttar Pradesh: Where women live in fear

Crimes against women highest in Uttar Pradesh: NCRB 2020 report

Violence and assault targeting Dalits rock Uttar Pradesh

The post Muslim bride molested on Delhi-Aligarh train, husband thrashed for defending her appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On August 18, Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar, a 21-year-old gang-rape survivor ends her life after UP Police denied to lodge an FIR against three men for the crime and coerced her father into misreporting the complaint.

According to the victim’s father, his daughter had gone missing from their home on the evening of August 16. After searching for her, she was found in an unconscious condition near a school and brought home by family members around 11 PM. Once she regained consciousness, she revealed that three men had lured and gang-raped her.

The father immediately went to the local police outpost to file an FIR but the Police refused to lodge an FIR and forced him to change the complaint.

On August 18, the victim’s younger sister discovered her hanging in her room. The devastated father reported to police that his daughter had felt humiliated ahead and abandoned due to the authorities lack of response.

The Police have said “the charges were upgraded to rape on the father’s complaint”, reported The Times of India.

A 16-years-old tribal girl gang-raped in Sahibganj (Jharkhand), dies by suicide

Another horrific incident of death by suicide of a gang-rape survivor in Jharkhand’s Sahibganj. A16-years-old minor tribal girl who was apparently unhappy with the local panchayat’s decision, allegedly ends her life.

The mother of the minor accused the panchayat head and the rape accused for killing her daughter.

On August 18, the local panchayat of Sahibganj district, where the incident happened, imposed a fine on the alleged rapist instead of accepting the earlier demand for marriage between him and the survivor made by her family members as she was a minor.

On August 19, the survivor’s mother lodged an FIR against 16 persons, including the local panchayat head and the rape accused, saying they killed her daughter on the night of August 18 when she was asleep in her room that was not bolted from inside. The panchayat head, who is the uncle of the rape accused, had reportedly presided over the meeting, police said.

The Times of India reported that the FIR alleged that the survivor was raped by a 23-old man of her village on August 15. However, the accused assaulted her at his house and threatened her with dire consequences if she approached the police.

Gang-rape horror in UP

In Uttar Pradesh, this is not the first incident where the rape survivor and family members have chosen death against police inaction. In March, 2024, 2 teen rape survivors died by suicide and father of one also was found hanged. In October 5, 2022, in Ambedkar Nagar, a student hung herself from the ceiling of her room. The father of the victim has reportedly stated that she had gone into “depression” after allegedly being kidnapped and gang-raped by two youth when she was on her way to school in the district’s Malipur area.

Related:

Police inaction against gang-rape accused drives victim to hang self: Uttar Pradesh

Rape accused allegedly rapes survivor again upon being granted bail

Unnao rape survivor set ablaze by accused!

The post Rape Horror: two gang-rape survivors die by suicide in UP & Jharkhand appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Several media reports have revealed the open clashes taking place between various student member groups at the institutions and attempts by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) of creating chaos. According to a report in the English Jagran, a scuffle broke out between student members of the ABVP, All India Students Association (AISA) and the Bhagat Singh Chatra Morcha (BCM) on November 5. With the ABVP accused of “being violent and unjust by the BCM, the office bearers of the ABVP have, accused members of the AISA and the BCM of “starting the scuffle.”

The “clash” between the groups escalated to the extent that the police had to intervene and light force was used to disperse them. According to the Jagran report, the members of AISA had planned to burn effigies of PM Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Vice Chancellor of BHU and the Principal of Women’s College, BHU. When the ABVP members tried to snatch the effigy, a scuffle broke out. In turn, , the members of the ABVP had themselves indulged in burning effigies of Uttar Pradesh Congress president, Ajay Rai, who had recently issued a statement accusing the ABVP members in connection with the aforementioned incident of sexual harassment with the female student.

According to Rai, persons associated with ABVP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were involved in the incident of sexual harassment. Rai had attacked the government by alleging that the government had appointed people associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in universities leading to the saffronisation of universities. He demanded immediate arrest of the people associated with the Sangh who were encouraging ABVP workers, a report by the India Herald provided.

Police yet to make any arrests, another incident comes to light

Shockingly, no arrests have been made by the police in connection with the case so far.. As per a report of Times of India, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bhelupur, Praveen Kumar Singh has stated that the ­­­­. Police officers have stated that apart from the university guards, police constables have also been deployed at the entry gates of the institute. The police have also assured that specialised teams have been assembled to pursue the culprits.

Even as the police dithers from taking any concrete action, protesting students have revealed that another female student had faced a similar ordeal two days before the aforementioned incident on November 1. According to the Free Press Journal (FPJ), Pranav Suresh, vice-president of IIT-BHU Students’ Parliament, a students’ group of the institute, in a video statement stated that on October 30, another such incident of sexual violence had taken place.  “While the current incident occurred on Wednesday night, another female student was molested by three men who touched her inappropriately and fled from the spot on Monday night,” the report provided.

It was further alleged by Suresh that the victim had lodged a complaint regarding the matter with the proctorial board. Suresh had also claimed that such incidents have become common on the campus and are committed by outsiders who easily enter the campus. Notably, ACP Singh had denied having any information on the Monday incident and stated, “The university administration has not informed us about any such incident.”

Meanwhile, on November 4, ABVP members protested Ajay Rai’s statement by, in turn, staging a protest and burning effigies of Rahul Gandhi and Ajay Rai. The ABVP had also demanded punitive measures against Rai for his claims. An FIR had also been filed at the Lanka police by the ABVP members against Rai on November 3. He has been booked under Section 505(2) (statement conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.

On November 5, four days after the shocking recent case of disrobing and molestation of a woman stident, abuse and harassment reported from inside the campus Banaras Hindu University and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) BHU, a joint meeting of the administrations was organised to raise the issue of student security. According to a press release, both the administrations have decided to take measures on surveillance, CCTV coverage, and lighting on the roads. Notably, the meeting was attended by BHU vice-chancellor Sudhir Kumar Jain, IIT BHU director Pramod Kumar Jain and other top functionaries.

The press release details the measures that both the institutions will be employing for ensuring the safety and peaceful and peaceful living of students of the campuses. Among the measures, the institutes state that proper lighting will be provided on the campus within the next two days along with strengthened security barriers and strict enforcement of security protocol. “All the seven gates of the campus are being under strict check from 10 pm to 5 am to restrict the entry of anti-social elements,” the official statement added.

Furthermore, the institutions emphasised that the already existing women’s grievance cells at IIT (BHU) and BHU will be strengthened and more participation from students was encouraged. The institutes have also formed a joint committee of faculty members which would work towards safety of students.

On the night of November 1, a female engineering student of IIT-BHU was allegedly molested and stripped by three motorcycle-borne men near her hostel. According to the complaint lodged by the victim, she was out with a friend on the IIT-BHU campus on Wednesday night when the incident took place. The duo were near the Karman Baba temple when three men came there on a motorcycle and forcibly took her to a corner and gagged her after separating her from her friend. The three accused then stripped the victim, made a video of her and clicked photos. As per her complaint, she was let go after 15 minutes. The three accused took her phone number, the complaint had stated. An FIR (First Information Report) had been lodged based upon the complaint. A massive protest by hundreds of students had taken place after the incident had been reported.

On the issue of constructing a boundary wall between the two campuses, a demand raised by the students over the recent incident of women violence, the members of the meeting resolved not to create a boundary wall between the two educational institutions as they believed that it will not solve the problem and is not feasible. The official statement provided that “It was unanimously agreed upon that in the current situation, in which many faculty buildings and other units/services such as hospital, sewage system, power/water supply, post office, roads leading to the campus, entry gates etc. are jointly shared, it is not feasible to isolate/divide the campus with a boundary wall. Both the institutions reiterated their commitment for ensuring safety of students in the campus as a whole and to take necessary measures as and when needed.” The institutes have urged students to extend their cooperation and resolved to implement the measures in “full-force”.

The complete press release can be read here:

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ABVP’s strong arm tactics have received a soft touch from law enforcement & the Indian state: 2014-2022

The post BHU molestation case: No arrests made, students allege a previous incident of molestation by bike-borne men, institute puts in security measures appeared first on SabrangIndia.

According to the complaint lodged by the victim, she was out with a friend on the IIT-BHU campus on Wednesday night when the incident took place. The duo were near the Karman Baba temple when three men came there on a motorcycle and forcibly took her to a corner and gagged her after separating her from her friend. The three accused then stripped the victim, made a video of her and clicked photos. As per her complaint, she was let go after 15 minutes. The three accused took her phone number, the complaint stated.

As per the report of the New Indian Express, on the basis of the woman’s complaint, an FIR has been registered under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code and under provisions of the IT Act at Lanka police station. The police further asserted that efforts are being made to identify the three accused.

The students of IIT-BHU staged a massive protest against the aforementioned incident by gathering near IIT-BHU’s Rajputana Hostel. The students claimed that outside elements were involved in the incident and demanded that outsiders be banned from entering the campus. The students raised slogans demanding justice and a safer campus for women.

Stand in complete solidarity with the students of IIT BHU who are demanding punishment for the culprits who sexually harassed the students. Sexual harassment can’t be tolerated at any cost. All support needs to be extended to the survivors. pic.twitter.com/LfmRPmBhO4

— Aishe (ঐশী) (@aishe_ghosh) November 2, 2023

Protest against the management of @IITBHU_Varanasi for being unable to provide security to the students #iitbhuvaranasi #iitlackssecurity pic.twitter.com/1bub7WiTUw

— siddu_siddartha_roy (@kmsiddartha43) November 2, 2023

Despite ongoing calls for campus security enhancements, the director and chief proctor remain inactive. Last night, a student was assaulted on our campus. We, the students of IIT BHU, demand immediate action and increased security. #SafetyFirst #IITBHU pic.twitter.com/RdgPhldV8I

— Prashant Rao (@raoprashant61) November 2, 2023

A video by the Quint showed the students protesting and raising demands for action by the Director of BHU.

Massive protests broke out at the Indian Institute Of Technology (BHU) in Uttar Pradesh’s #Varanasi on 2 November after a student alleged that she was molested on campus by three unidentified men. pic.twitter.com/bmeMFZcO01

— The Quint (@TheQuint) November 2, 2023

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also took to ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter) to condemn the incident. She said “Are BHU campuses and even top institutions like IITs not safe now? Is it no longer possible for a girl student in the Prime Minister’s constituency to walk fearlessly inside her own educational institution?”

Her post can be accessed here:

बनारस में IIT, BHU की एक छात्रा पर यौन आक्रमण हुआ है। कुछ देर पहले, विश्वविद्यालय-परिसर में, उस छात्रा के साथ ज़ोर-ज़बर्दस्ती और दिल दहला देने वाली हिंसा की गयी है। निर्लज्ज हमलावरों ने घटना का वीडियो भी बना लिया है। घटना के विरुद्ध आईआईटी के छात्र प्रदर्शन कर रहे हैं।

क्या अब…

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) November 2, 2023

Not the first incident of sexual violence against women at IIT-BHU

In July 2023, two men were booked by the Varanasi police after a female student of BHU had alleged that she was sexually harassed and thrashed by a group of male students inside the BHU cyber library. As per her complaint, the group had also assaulted her on the route to the central library on the campus. As per the report of Times of India, in her complaint, the 28-year-student alleged that she was busy studying at the cyber library on Saturday afternoon when accused Saurabh Rai and his accomplices reached there and started misbehaving with her. Following this, she was forced to leave the library. As she left, Rai and his accomplices had chased her and subjected her to abuse. Notably, based on the complaint, the Lanka police had immediately lodged a FIR against the accused under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 354 (outraging modesty of woman) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC.

Prior to this, a similar sexual harassment incident had also taken place at the IIT-BHU campus in 2017 also which had resulted in massive protests. In the said incident, Notably, the Varanasi police had filed charges of arson and other crimes against 1,200 protesting BHU students. In September 2017, a BHU student of the Arts Faculty was allegedly harassed by three motorcycle-borne men inside the campus when she was returning to the Triveni Hostel. The student alleged that instead of raising the matter with university authorities, the hostel warden questioned her why she was returning so late. Hundreds of students sat on protest in the campus after this string of events in protest against lack of safety and alleged victim shaming. In reaction to the incident, the Vice Chancellor G C Tripathi had said “Boys will be boys. Forget about what happened. Why don’t you stop stepping out after 6 pm if you dislike such things? You are a girl, don’t try to become a boy (by stepping out after sunset).” Notably, the Varanasi police had filed charges of arson and other crimes against 1,200 protesting BHU students.

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The post IIT-BHU: Female student molested, abused and stripped by three bike-borne men inside campus appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The professor has alleged that although the incident took place on May 22, the police refused to lodge the case until August 27. The police said the case was lodged against the four accused — including two assistant professors — after a preliminary probe was conducted.

The complainant – a senior faculty member –  has also alleged that the accused, including the two colleagues from her department, “regularly talked about stripping her and making her do rounds of the university”.

“In continuation to this, on May 22 around 2 pm, one of them came to my chamber and said that he will get me removed from my post and kill me. I came out of my chamber and then the other accused shut the door of the department. One of the men held me and tried to do inappropriate things with me after tearing my clothes. The other one recorded it. The others kicked and punched me,” she said in her complaint to police. “Some people came after I shouted and rescued me. I am attaching CCTV footage along with this complaint.”

On Wednesday, August 30, she told The Indian Express, “I am being targeted because I am Dalit. The whole issue is over my refusal to remove someone from his post. They were putting pressure on me and I refused. Then they did this.”

“I lodged several complaints at the police station and to other officials concerned. The FIR was lodged only after I wrote to the HRD Ministry, SC and ST Commission, and the Chief Minister’s Office,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Assistant Commissioner of Police Praveen Kumar Singh however, told the media, “The FIR was lodged after a preliminary probe as per CrPC provisions. The case is being investigated.”

Notably, the BHU Public Relations Officer Rajesh Singh said that action will be taken according to procedure. “The case is with the police now, so they will investigate. We will follow all procedures,” he told The Indian Express.

The BHU Vice-Chancellor Sudhir K Jain did not respond to calls and text messages for his response.

The FIR against the four was lodged under IPC Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 354-B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and under various provisions of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Contradicting the complainant, when contacted, one of the accused assistant professors told The Indian Express: “The allegations are made up and baseless. She has lodged similar complaints against others too… She has her personal motives and that is why she is doing this. Had a proper probe been done before the FIR was lodged, it wouldn’t have reached this stage.”

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The post Dalit academic alleges assault, molestation; FIR names 2 faculty, 2 students: BHU appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Calling an unknown girl “item” and pulling her hair would amount to outraging her modesty punishable under Section 354 of the IPC, a special court held while sentencing a 25-year-old businessman from Mumbai to a year and a half in prison in a sexual harassment case Livelaw reports.

Special judge S J Ansari observed that “Item is a term used generally by boys to address girls in a derogatory fashion as it objectifies them in a sexual manner, the same will clearly indicate his intention of outraging her modesty.” Declining to release him on execution of a bond of good behaviour under the Probation of Offenders Act, the judge observed. “Such offences need to be dealt with a heavy hand as a lesson needs to be meted out to such road side romeos, in order to protect the women from their uncalled for behaviour. Consequently, there does not arise any question of granting the benefit of probation to the accused or showing unwarranted leniency to him.”

The prosecution case stated that the victim had shifted to Sakinaka, in Mumbai, just a month prior to the incident. She had been complaining about the accused and his friends harassing her. He would continuously follow her and used to address her “item” However, on July 14, 2015, the 16-yr-old was returning from school when the the accused pulled her hair and asked her “kya item kidhar ja rahi ho ?” and commented “”ae item sun na””. On being told to stop, the man began hurling abuses at her forcing her to call the police helpline ‘100.’ The accused Abrar Khan fled by the time the police reached,and hence an FIR was registered subsequently and the accused secured anticipatory bail. The prosecution examined four witnesses.

Khan’s defence counsel said the man was falsely implicated. He submitted that the accused and victim were friends and the false case was foisted on him because the victim’s parents were unhappy with their relationship. The court however disagreed with the accused based on the victim’s cogent testimony. The court added since the victim and accused didn’t even know each other, “it was wholly inappropriate of the accused to act in the way in which he did, which act qualifies as using criminal force to her.”

Moreover, “”The fact of the accused having intentionally caught hold of the victim ‘X’s hair and having pulled it, as also of he calling her an “item”, in my opinion, will certainly go to prove the fact of he having outraged her modesty,” the judge observed. But the judge said charge of stalking hasn’t been proved.

The judge held him guilty under sections 354 of the IPC and section 12 of the POCSO Act.

The post “Item” is derogatory for girls, roadside romeos need a dose of the law: Mumbai Court convicts accused appeared first on SabrangIndia.

West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) has written to the state Election Commission asking that immediate steps be taken against a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) jawan who is accused of molesting a minor girl. The incident was reported from Hooghly district just a day before the accused jawan served on election duty during phase three of the ongoing assembly elections.

The child rights body has asked that the case be investigated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The Commission for Protection of Child Rights has written that there was a threat to other women that the jawan was allowed to leave for election duty, reported The Telegraph.

According to the news report WBCPCR chairperson Ananya Chakraborti, had visited the home of the girl on Wednesday. Chakraborti’s letter to the chief election commissioner of Bengal stated, “If the victim is a minor, it is mandatory to start a case under Pocso Act and the accused should be arrested immediately. I personally met the victim who told me that she had ghastly been molested by the jawan who even offered money to her. We are surprised that police can treat such a serious case so lightly.” Another letter had been sent to the local police asking why the investigation in the case was not started.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien had also written to the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal about this case where a tribal girl, who is a minor, was brutally sexually assaulted, allegedly by the jawan. According to O’Brien, the incident took place in Tarakeshwar in Hooghly in the early hours of April 6, and the survivor is a resident of Ramnagar GP. The jawan involved has not been named. While a complaint has been registered with the Tarakeshwar police station, O’Brien has written to the EC demanding a detailed investigation. O’Brien also went on to say that there were other instances that had come to light “where CRPF personnel are intimidating voters and telling them to vote for the BJP.”

According to the Telegraph’s news report, the police did not arrest the accused jawan and allowed him to leave despite the commission’s directive to the law enforcers not to do so. However, the superintendent of police of Hooghly rural district, Amandeep, has reportedly claimed the allegation was that the CAPF jawan had tried to molest the girl and the probe was going on, “The process of identification is over and the girl’s statement has been recorded. Today (Thursday), she was sent to court to record her statement in front of a judicial magistrate.”  

When questioned by the media on why the jawan had not been arrested so far, the SP reportedly said, “The complaint was that the jawan tried to molest the girl.” The Telegraph reported that Chakraborti, has reacted sharply to this and said, “It is horrible if the SP speaks like that. I met the girl who told me how a gruesome assault was carried out on her. She was complaining of illness too.”

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Battleground Bengal: EVM malfunction, secret tapes mark first phase of Assembly Elections

The post Why has CAPF man on poll duty, accused of molesting EC a minor not been arrested yet? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

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The women, who came from slums in Mandala, Annabhau Sathe Nagar and Govandi, revealed how even in Mumbai, which is known to be one of the safest cities in India, they were not entirely free from gender based violence and that their safety and security largely depended on the material structures they occupied and the area in which they lived.
 

A Woman’s Burden

Living in slums could be challenging in more ways than one, especially when compared to the conditions of living in other regularised buildings. Women who live in slums, not only have to worry every day about managing basic amenities like water, that is not available at their door steps, but they also need to deal with the imminent threats of demolitions and sexual abuse and molestations, that follow almost as a pattern.

Speaking at the meeting, Sushila Gulab Kale, a resident of Jai Ambe Nagar in Govandi, said, “When we are evicted from our homes without notice, we are left on the roads, with no toilet facility. It puts our safety at risk in several ways, including possibilities of sexual molestation”

Additionally, pregnant women have to face more hardships. “My daughter gave birth to her child three days after our house was demolished by the government. We spent nights without shelter. No words can explain the pain that we went through after eviction” said Fatima, another resident who works as a sweeper on sub-contract with the Mumbai municipal corporation, present at the meeting. Fatima lamented on the tragedy and contradiction of her work and her living conditions, “I clean gutters throughout the day. But in our slums, we are forced to defecate in the open. Even then, people living in high-rise buildings adjacent to the open ground where we defecate throw stones at us. You tell us what are we supposed to do? Shall we not defecate and allow our stomachs to swell,” she asked. Fatima feels that even though people like her are the ones who are helping the government with its Swacch Bharat mission, it is they who suffer most, without any systematic intervention in their situation.

Several women from neighbouring settlements of Anna Bhau Sathe Nagar, Mandala, Bheemchhaya and Sanjay Nagar came forward to give testimonies about similar difficulties.

In a press release, the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) highlighted the perils of housing in Mumbai. It said, “Housing, which is a basic necessity, has simply been reduced to a commodity. It implies that if one can afford to buy a house only then he/she will have a house and if one cannot afford to buy a house then there is no provision to get the protection of even a minimum shelter.” NAPM says that the commoditization of housing is the reason for the existence of slum housing and closely linked to urban poverty. It draws attention to the terminology that is evolved around ‘slums’ and said that it is meant to ridicule those who were living in it. It added that the demolition of these settlements was not eradicating poverty but, in fact, has forced people to become “homeless, voiceless and invisible” population of the city who actually help sustain it. This aspect was closely linked to the women residing in these neighbourhoods who face multiple levels of marginalisation due to their socio-economic situation.

Voicing the collective anger towards politicians who make false promises before elections, Maya Sutar, a dweller of Jai Ambe Nagar said, “We have spent several years seeing politicians come to us with folded hands and promise us better facilities. After the elections, everyone forgets us. The only things the politicians leave behind are words. Shall we hold the words, like we hold air? They simply betray us!”

The women resolved to fight for their rights, “Though we are suffering, we have not given up. We will fight and we will win”, said Jameela Begum of Sathe Nagar slum and who also moderated the public meeting. Girija Gupte and Mary Antony of Jagrut Kamgar Manch were invited as guests in the public meeting.
 

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According to a report published by Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, a passengers’ welfare platform. 21 women have been raped in public transports in last 13 months Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune

At least 21 women were either raped or gang-raped on public transportation across the country in the last 13 months, according to a report published by Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, a passengers’ welfare platform.

The report, published on Thursday based on media reports, also stated that nine of the victims were gang-raped by drivers and helpers of the vehicles.

Cases were filed in connection with all the incidents except a gang rape incident that happened in Manikganj on April 9, 2017. Police have so far arrested 55 people in connection with the incidents.

On January 21, 2017, a Dhaka University student filed a sexual harassment case with the Darussalam police station against a bus driver and an assistant of the Gabtoli-Nabinagar route.

The incident took place at Gabtoli Bus Terminal. Later, the police arrested the duo, according to the report.

A schoolgirl was gang-raped by an easybike driver and two others when she failed to pay the fare in Chuadanga’s Almadanga area on November 13, 2017.

On April 9, 2017, a woman was raped in front of her husband in a running bus on the Dhaka-Aricha highway.

On July 31, 2017, a girl was gang-raped in a bus of Padma Paribahan in Roumari, Kurigram on her way to Dhaka.

On the way to Narayanganj from Gazipur, driver Mahedi Hassan and his aid Sohan allegedly gang-raped a teenage girl on a moving truck on August 1, 2017. Police later arrested the driver.

On August 8, 2017, a man named Imran Hossain attempted to rape a girl in a car in Dhaka’s Banani area after kidnapping her. Police arrested Imran and seized the car.

On August 11, 2017, a madrasa student in Class VII in Mymensingh’s Muktagacha area was repeatedly raped by driver Joynal Abedin and helper Ripon. The police arrested them after the victim’s uncle filed a case.

The reports also mentioned that Zakia Sultana Rupa was raped and killed in a bus heading to Mymensingh by the driver and three of his assistants on August 25, 2017.

A Tangail court on February 12 sentenced the driver and his three assistants to death and handed seven years’ imprisonment to the bus supervisor for the offences.

This article was first published on Dhaka Tribune
 

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