Angry protests in India after gang rape and murder of a woman doctor

Hundreds of angry Indians took to the streets of New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Calcutta yesterday in protest against the gang rape and burning to death of a 27-year old female veterinary doctor. Protestors demanded quick and strict punishment of the perpetrators, including public execution, in a step to deter femicide and speed up trials in rape cases. In the details, a women vet disappeared on Wednesday and police discovered her charred body on Saturday arresting four men in their twenties and accusing them of collectively raping her and setting her body on fire in the city of Hyderabad south of India. Police said the suspects deflated the victim’s scooter tires when she was not there and then offered to help take her back where they dragged her to a park near the motorway on the pretext of fixing the tires. Commenting on the murder, a former lawmaker called for the public execution of the criminals, while other parliamentarians attributed the growing sexual violence to tardy court decisions. Recalling, that according to government figures, more than 33,000 rape cases have been recorded in the country during 2017, involving 10,000 minors. The courts looked into over 18,000  cases, while some 128,000 cases remain pending at the end of the year.  (An Nahar, December 3, 2019)