8 Heinous Crimes That Brought Attention To Women's Safety In India

Trigger warning: Mentions of r*pe, murder, and violence

The death of Anjali Singh has sparked a massive outrage in India’s capital since the beginning of the new year. Anjali’s two-wheeler was hit by a Maruti Baleno car and her body was dragged by the vehicle for nearly one and a half hours. Her body was dragged for more than 10 km from where her scooter was hit. It is being speculated that this is no mere accident, but a violent crime committed against a woman.

Here is a retrospective look at the heinous crimes committed against women that brought attention to women’s safety in India.

Nirbhaya case

The 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder, known as the Nirbhaya case involved the fatal assault on Jyoti Singh, a 22-year-old woman who was returning home after watching a movie with her friend. The incident occurred on December 16, 2012 in Munirka, South West Delhi. Singh was beaten, gangraped, and tortured in a private bus by six people, including the driver.

She was rushed to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi and transferred to Singapore after 11 days, where she succumbed to her injuries. The incident generated national and international coverage, while public protests against the state and central governments took place to condemn the gross act. Singh was given the moniker of ‘Nirbhaya’, meaning ‘fearless’, and became a symbol of women’s resistance globally. Eight years later on 20 March 2020, Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur, and Pawan Gupta were executed at Tihar Jail.

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Hathras case

A 19-year-old Dalit woman was gangraped in Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh on September 14, 2020, by four upper caste men, belonging to the Thakur caste. She died two weeks later in a Delhi hospital. In a statement, the victim accused the four of raping her. After her death, it was alleged that she was forcibly cremated by the police without the consent of her family. The case and its handling received condemnation from across the country, and activists protested against the Yogi Adityanath government.

On December 19, 2020, the CBI filed a chargesheet in a special court in Hathras, invoking gangrape, murder and charges under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. CBI also cited lapses on the part of UP Police, which included delay in recording the victim’s statement and her medical examination.

Shraddha Walkar murder case

Shraddha Walkar was murdered by her boyfriend and live-in partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala in Delhi on May 18, 2022. The case only came to the forefront after six months when Walkar’s father lodged a missing persons complaint after hearing from her friends that they were unable to contact her for more than two months. The 28-year-old Poonawala strangled his live-in partner over an argument and dismembered her body into 35 pieces, charring her face to hide her identity. A 300-litre fridge was used to store her body parts, which were individually disposed of in the Chhatarpur forest over the next 18 days. Poonawalla was arrested on November 12, 2022. The case caused a national frenzy as Walkar’s character and choices came into question. However, the structural inequalities that allow violence against women to persist need to be blamed.

Laxmi Agarwal Acid Attack case

A 15-year-old Laxmi Agarwal was approached by a man named Naeem Khan in 2005, who was 32 years old at that point. He expressed his liking towards Agarwal but she rejected him. She kept this to herself due to the backlash she would receive from her family. Ten months later, Khan approached her again and proposed to her, but she did not respond. A few seconds later, she was attacked by acid by Khan and his elder brother.

Agarwal’s entire face and other body parts were disfigured in the acid attack. She filed a PIL in 2006 demanding framing of a new law, or amendment to existing criminal laws for dealing with the offence, besides compensation and rehabilitation. She appealed for the total ban on the sale of acid across the nation. In 2013, the apex court ruled in favour of Agarwal’s plea and set restrictions on the sale of acid. However, acid attacks continue in the country. Recently, a boy threw acid on a 17-year-old schoolgirl in Delhi's Dwarka district resulting in injuries to both of her eyes after buying acid from an online platform.

Jessica Lal case

Jessica Lal, a model and celebrity bartender at Tamarind Court restaurant was shot dead by Manu Sharma in 1999. Sharma is the son of a prominent Haryana politician Vinod Sharma. Accompanied by his friends, Sharma was already drunk but asked for more liquor from Lal after the bar was closed. She refused, which enraged Sharma who killed her at point blank range.

Delhi Police filed a chargesheet naming Manu Sharma as the prime accused. However, the trial witnessed a major twist when witness Shayan Munshi, a friend of Lal, turned hostile on May 3, 2001. Bina Ramani stood firmly beside Lal and identified Sharma as the perpetrator. But in February 2006, Sharma and eight others were acquitted by the lower court, which led to a public outcry. The Delhi High Court reopened the case after an appeal by the police. On December 18, 2006, Sharma was sentenced to life imprisonment.

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Kathua rape case

An 8-year-old Muslim girl was abducted, gangraped and murdered by six men in January 2018 in the Rasana village near Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. The accused were arrested and the trial began in April. The girl belonged to the nomadic Bakarwal community.

The case led to huge protests in the nation. On 10 June 2019, six of the seven defendants were convicted and one acquitted. Three of those convicted were sentenced to life imprisonment and the remaining three to five years in jail.

Hyderabad rape case

The gang rape and murder of a 26-year-old veterinary doctor in Shamshabad, near Hyderabad sparked outrage across India in November 2019. Her body was found a day after she was murdered. Four suspects were arrested and confessed to having raped and killed the doctor.

After the victim parked her scooter, the suspects allegedly deflated her scooter’s tire in her absence. She noticed the flat tyre and called for help. The accused, on pretense of offering help, ambushed her. The men removed her clothes and sexually assaulted her until she lost consciousness. After she regained consciousness, they smothered her, wrapped her body in a blanket, and burnt her body under a bridge using diesel and petrol. It was reported that the suspects were drunk during the rape and murder. Protesters across India demanded stricter laws against rapists.

Badaun rape case

In 2014, the gang rape and murder of two teenage girls was reported in the Katra village of Badaun district, Uttar Pradesh. This was widely reported in the press nationwide as well as internationally. After investigation, the CBI concluded that there was no gang rape, and the suspects were released, however in 2015, a POCSO court rejected the CBI report, which showed the massive failing of the organisation.

According to reports, the girls had gone out into the fields that were used for open defecation and did not return. The police were notified, but no action was taken. The villagers spent the entire night searching for the girls, and the following morning found them hanging from a tree.

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