Shahdara rape-assault: Woman denied bail, court says incident a 'black spot' on society

New Delhi: A Delhi court has dismissed the bail plea of a 55-year-old woman arrested in a rape case of a woman, who was abducted, allegedly gangraped by her neighbours, and paraded on the streets in Shahdara.

Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra in an order passed on February 24, said the "shameful" incident occurred in a busy residential area, yet nobody came forward to rescue the assault survivor, which is a "black spot" on our society, The Indian Express reported.

On January 26, the woman was smeared with black ink and paraded on the streets in Shahdara in broad daylight. Almost everyone in the lower middle class locality of Delhi's Shahdara saw her being beaten up, then paraded with sandals around her neck, her face blackened, her hair shaved off.

She was dragged across, screaming, through the neighbourhood lanes, but no one offered to help, including her well-off relatives. No one wants to talk about the horrifying incident. The room where she was allegedly gangraped, then assaulted, is now locked from outside.

Some residents took videos, while others watched from their rooftops. A jeering mob walked behind the battered victim and the band of accused — almost all women — who continued to pulverise her.

According to police, the family held her responsible for the death of one of their relatives — a teenager who was allegedly stalking the woman and proposed to her, which she rejected.

According to The Indian Express, the court noted that the "prosecutrix/victim has specifically named the applicant in the FIR and has narrated her role in the incident".

Calling the allegations grave in nature, the court said, "There are independent witnesses who have given their statements regarding the incident. The shameful incident occurred in broad daylight in a busy residential area, and nobody came forward to rescue the victim, which is a black spot on the face of our society."

The Additional Public Prosecutor opposed the bail application by submitting that the applicant actively participated in the incident, and that the allegations against her are "grave and serious in nature and investigation is at initial stage".

The lawyer for the accused argued that "she is not seen in any video clipping which has been seized by the Investigating Officer (IO) and also [went] viral on social media".