In a heartbreaking incident, a 90-year-old elderly woman has been allegedly gang-raped in Barhaldi village, which is in North Tripura’s Kanchanpur district. As per the report in ToI, a case has been registered against two men, who allegedly barged into the home of a 90-year-old woman and raped her.
As per the sources, an FIR has been lodged against a 35-year old man named Anjan Nama who is a resident of the same village, and another unidentified man. None of the accused have been arrested so far.
As per the Superintendent of Police Bhanupada Chakraborty,
“One of the accused used to call the woman, who was living alone in her house, ‘grandmother’. On the night of the incident, he and another man broke into the house and raped the elderly woman.”
The elderly survivor further added,
“Anjan and another man stormed into my house at midnight. They raped me and left me almost half-dead. When I regained my senses the next morning, I informed my neighbor. But Anjan is a very powerful person and we did not dare to take a stand against him.”
As per the Deccan Herald, after the incident that took place on October 24, the 90-year-old woman had fallen ill but didn’t inform the police. Five days later, when her relatives got to know about the incident, they lodged the complaint on October 29.
After the complaint, the police took the survivor to the hospital, completed her medical examination, and recorded her statement on the basis of which an inquiry has been started, the officer said.
As per Times Now, Chakraborty mentioned that the case investigation is underway and a manhunt has been launched to arrest the absconding men. We wonder the people, who blame women, their clothes, or their parenting for rape, how would they explain the rape of a 90-year-old.
Struggle Of Increasing Rape Cases & Victim Blaming
While many women are struggling with the increasing cases of rape, it is heartbreaking how even in the 21st century there are many who blame the victim. Rather than holding the rapists accountable, they tend to blame the rape victims and their parents. What is worse is that lawmakers and our TV celebs also indulge in this behavior.
Recently, a shameless statement was made by Mullappally Ramachandran, the state Congress president in Kerala, that left many angry and disappointed. He made appalling, misogynist remarks aimed at victims of rape. He said,
“A woman with self-respect would end her life if raped or will try to prevent it from happening again.”
Even a few days back, Mukesh Khanna’s disgusting video surfaced, in which he blamed women for the rise in sexual harassment cases against them. While blaming women, he said:
“Problem kaha se shuru hue hai #MeToo ki jab aurato nein bhi kaam karna shuru kar diya”
Earlier, a BJP MLA Surendra Singh Ballia said that rape cases can be “stopped” if parents teach their daughters to behave “decently”.
Not only we are struggling with the increasing cases of sexual assault against women, but also the culture of victim-blaming. This culture of victim-blaming not only discourages victims to speak up against assault but also puts the accountability of the crime on the victim rather than the abusers. The authorities need to take steps to make sure the victim shaming is stopped as soon as possible.
At IFORHER, we hope that the culprits are punished, and speedy justice is delivered to this 90-year-old. This shocking incident is another reminder of how unsafe our society has become for women. It is heartbreaking how neither 9 months old baby or a 90-year-old woman is safe.
(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault).