14 DAY TRIAL // A gruesome incident in Mumbai, India this week is sure to start more protests on the issue of women's safety in the country.
A woman has been raped by a gang of men during a work assignment. The victim is a photojournalist who was researching abandoned textile mills in the city.
Police have made five arrests in the case but the names of the suspects have not yet been released, Sky News reports. Two of the men called each other out by their names, Rupesh and Saijid.
The victim was studying the Lower Parel area with a male co-worker who was filming her findings.
"The woman, who is around 22 years old, had gone inside the Shakti Mills compound at about 6pm along with a young man who was carrying the cameras," says Mumbai commissioner, Satya Pal Singh, according to the Guardian.
The man was assaulted and tied up before the attack on the female victim. She has survived the incident and she is now in stable condition.
"Five men who were inside the derelict textile mill first accused the woman's companion of being wanted for a murder, tied him up with a belt, then took the woman aside and took turns raping her," Singh describes.
Activist Kavita Krishnan states that women no longer feel safe in Mumbai. The incident comes after the rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus in December.
"Mumbai's famous textile mill area was once one of the safest neighbourhoods in the city, with men and women working together. [...] It's sad that this has happened now.
"Mumbai will feel safe for women again only if police focus on protecting us, not restricting us," Krishnan notes.
Union law minister Kapil Sibal has also tweeted about harsher punishments and stricter laws on the matter.
"Like every woman in Mumbai, I have held on desperately to the hope that women are safe in this city. [...] Yesterday, that faith was brutally violated," adds journalist Deepanjana Pal.