Delhi gangrape paints picture of police callousness

The brutal gangrape and murder of the 23-year-old Delhi braveheart and the assault on her male friend by the six accused paints a picture of not only abject public apathy but also police callousness. While the braveheart and her friend lay on the road and cried for help after being thrown out of the bus by the six accused on the night of December 16, no one came to their help even as several people stopped and looked at them.

The man, who had earlier fought with the assailants bravely as they assaulted and then raped his friend in the bus, blamed not only the passersby for their indifference but also Delhi Police PCR vans for fighting over jurisdiction instead of helping them.

Speaking out against public and police indifference in an exclusive interview to Zee News, the man who is the only eyewitness to the heinous crime said that no one stopped to help them for about 25 minutes while he and his friend lay grievously injured and without any clothes on them near Mahipalpur flyover of the national capital. According to the man three police vans arrived after 45 minutes and wasted crucial time in deciding the territorial jurisdiction of the police station under which the case falls.
However, Delhi Police refuted the allegations of delay in providing the necessary relief to the victims. Delhi Police PRO Rajan Bhagat said, "The PCR call was recorded at 10:22:20 pm. Call broadcasted to PCR vans and Van Z-54 directed to spot. Meanwhile PCR van E-42 reached spot on its own at 10:26 pm i.e., within 4 minutes. Van Z-54 reached spot at 10:28 pm i.e., within 5.5 minutes of call. It left the spot with victims at 10:31 pm i.e., within 3 minutes. It reached Safdarjang hospital within 24 minutes at 10:55 pm. All records as per GPS."
Reacting to the man's interview, former Indian Police Service officer Kiran Bedi said that people in India are divided along religious lines. "We are Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christians. But we are not human beings. Even our courts have to be sensitive. Our police drives away, so do our courts drive away," she said.
The reaction from the general public was that people don't come forward to help as they fear police harassment and not interested in getting into legal hassles. "It's really, really pathetic. She was lying there brutally attacked. Nobody even bothered, not even police. Police is supposed to serve the public?" said a young girl in Delhi.
"What we need is a societal change now. This has to start at the primary levels - in schools, homes. Have to change overall mentality in terms of culture, everything," said another Delhi resident. "There is the fear of investigation, registering FIR, continuous questioning and because of this nobody likes to come forward," said another.

A case has been registered against Zee News for revealing the identity of the key witness. The FIR has been registered under Section 228A in the Vasant Vihar Police station. The case does not entail what he has he spoke about in the channel. But police officials are going through the entire interview and seeking legal advice to see if there is any need for a case on that matter as well.
The man's statement has already been registered under The Code of Criminal Procedure Section 164 which is a valid statement in the court of law so legally there isn't much of a difference that it is going to make to the case.