There is no way to put a positive spin on the gruesome rape case that happened on the 9^th of May in Rohtak. The horrifying details of the case are such that it can shake your faith in humanity.

On the 11^th of May, the body of a Dalit woman was found severely mutilated in an empty plot in Rohtak’s IMT area. After a post-mortem, it was found that she had been gang-raped. “The victim was tortured and her body was mutilated after the gang rape. She was killed after being raped involving at least seven people. Her skull was smashed in a way which indicates that she was run over by a vehicle in order to hide her identity,” the forensic team has stated to the Huffington Post. The woman’s body was missing a food-pipe and street dogs had been feeding off of her. The attack disfigured her body to such an extent that the woman’s mother could only identify her by the clothes.

The attack is a mirror to the inherent patriarchy in the Indian society. The proof lies in the fact that the woman’s family is still receiving death threats from the accused’s relatives.

The reason for this brutal rape and murder was revenge, as the family of the woman explained, that the victim had denied the accused’s proposal of marriage. The accused then reached the victim’s house and an argument broke out, which resulted in the victim slapping the accused. Despite the rejection, the accused badgered and threatened the family for over a year, at one point holding the victim at gunpoint.

The woman’s parents blame the police for their incompetence despite a complaint a few months back. The Police do not agree with this narrative, with Sonipat SP, Shenvi claiming, “There was a verbal complaint given some time back by the woman to Sonipat police saying that the main accused was asking her to marry him. It was a verbal complaint; there was no written complaint to the police station.” However, this raises the question whether there should be a provision under law to ensure verbal complaints are sufficient for registering a FIR.

The accused, identified as “Sumit and Vikas (28)” confessed to the crime while under arrest for possession of illegal arms. There, Sumit admitted to smashing the woman’s head with a brick.

The two accused in rape and murder of Sonepat woman in police custody on Saturday. May 13, 2017

The Red Cross and the Haryana Government have collectively promised to provide 10.5 lakhs to the family of the victim.

It is scary that crimes this violent are still happening in the same country that was shaken 5 years ago by the case of Nirbhaya. Perhaps our society needs to look inwards and teach the concept of consent to young men. This vicious cycle of crimes like Bilkis Bano, Nirbhaya and now Rohtak display a stark reality of the country.

What shocks me is the audacity the relatives of the accused have to actually threaten the family of the victim. What’s more is that Sumit and Vikas were apparently laughing when they were taken to the house of the victim by the police.

It’s high time we, as a society, awaken and take matters into our own hands.

The Indian Women Blog has contacted a member of the National Commission for Women, Ms. Rekha Sharma, who will be sending us the Police Report about the entire incident. Stay connected for more updates.