7 Suspects Arrested in India Gang Rape Weeks After Nationwide Protests
A woman was gang raped after riding a bus in India only a few weeks after another woman fell victim to the same crime that produced widespread protests throughout the country after her unfortunate death.
Reports from India indicate that police have arrested seven suspects, including the bus driver, in connection with the attack that occurred in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab state, located in the Northeastern part of the country.
This latest attack started on a bus in similar fashion to the tragic death of the 23-year old who was gang raped by six men and who later died as a result of her injures.
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"The increased media reporting and the protests have created an awakening among women, and they are now coming forward like never before to report rape and want to fight for justice," Hardeep Dhillon, a senior police spokesman in Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab state, read in a statement.
"This has also made our police force more sensitive to these cases. Now they file the complaint immediately and believe the victim's statement without questioning," he added.
In this particular incident police explained that after the women boarded the bus they waited until she was the only one left before failing to stop after she requested to get off, the Times of India reported.
The woman was taken to another location, where the bus driver and an accomplice were met by five other men.
"When the woman got down from the bus, she was carried away by the bus driver and conductor on a motorcycle to another spot and were joined by five other men," said Raj Jeet Singh, the senior superintendent of police in Gurdaspur in Punjab, said in a statement.
Singh revealed the woman was dropped off near her village the next morning and went with her family to report the rape on Saturday. Police arrested the suspects a short time later in what is seen as an usually fast pace.
"Earlier the police would merely make a note the details of a rape case when a woman came to the police station," Dhillon said. "They would hold a preliminary inquiry, ascertain the facts and only then register a formal complaint."
