In a bid to bring “shame” to her for "getting raped", a 16-year-old victim was tied to her alleged rapist and forced to walk with him in the tribal-dominated Alirajpur district of India's Madhya Pradesh state.
While the salwar kurta-clad victim walked with her head down in shame, a mob surrounding her kept chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” (Long Live Mother India) – a video of which has gone viral on social media.
The victim's family members physically assaulted her and were allegedly involved in making her walk with her rapist. Both the girl and her alleged rapist were tied together with a thick jute rope.
The names of both remain undisclosed.
Rape Survivor Tied, Paraded With Her Attacker In Madhya Pradesh Shocker https://t.co/8T28Y4EsWi pic.twitter.com/3fdoJUl4Ut
— NDTV (@ndtv) March 29, 2021
The incident, which happened over the weekend, has left Indians in shock and disbelief. Many replied to the “nationalist slogan chanters” from the video with “this is not my India” comments.
If It's NOT Uttar Pradesh then it's Madhya Pradesh or some other state where Human Life be it Male or Female is descending everyday to lower depths. Yet their CM's / Administration is highly rated by a Sold Media who prefer to NOT do their Jobs.
— Rohan (@rohanld) March 29, 2021
This is NOT INDIA.
This is not my India. Are they animals?
— Gopali Ghosh (@ghosh_gopali) March 29, 2021
Rape Survivor Tied, Paraded With Her Attacker In Madhya Pradesh Shocker https://t.co/cZYWQ78xyA via @YouTube। Is this the definition of Ram Rajya 😡😡... what’s going on @BJP4India @BJP4Bengal @ChouhanShivraj
— Neelanjana Roy (@neelanjanaroy1) March 30, 2021
Revealing details to the media, police inspector Dilip Singh Bilwal said that the incident has resulted in the filing of two official complaints.
"One of the cases was filed against the 21-year-old man who is accused of rape. Another FIR (first information report) was filed against the family members of the girl and villagers for parading her through the village and beating her," Press Trust of India quoted Bilwal as saying.
A total of six people have been arrested in connection with this incident so far. The investigation is still underway.