This Article is From Apr 18, 2009

Mumbai gangrape: Action delayed?

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Mumbai:

In the horrific case of gang-rape of a 23-year-old foreigner that left Mumbai shocked, two more arrests were made on Friday morning. And so now, five of the six college students who allegedly raped her are in the police net.

The sixth accused Vinamra Soni, a student of the Mumbai's Jai Hind College, is still missing. All six boys were students who had moved to Mumbai to study there have met the American girl.

However, now, the Mumbai Police stands accused of delaying action against the accused. In her statement, the victim alleged that even though the gangrape was confirmed by doctors the police delayed in registering her complaint because she refused to get herself admitted in a civil hospital. The police in turn blame the girl for the delay, as she refused to get herself admitted to a civic hospital.

The victim who was a student of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences was gang raped late Saturday night by 6 men, 2 of whom were known to her.

On Sunday doctors at the Rajawadi civic hospital confirmed rape. She refused to get herself admitted to the hospital and instead waited for over 4 hours for the police to register her complaint. Finally she had to go to the police station herself four days after the incident.

"If she is not admitted to a hospital she is advised to go to the local police station and registered her complaint," said Dilip Sawant, DCP, Mumbai Police.

While the police claims it was not legally required of them to go looking for the victim to register, the question is should red tape be allowed to become a hindrance to immediate action? Also did it help the missing accused escape from the city? These questions still remain to be answered.

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