8 months, 550 rape cases in Mumbai: City of dreams turns into a city of rapes under Uddhav Sarkar

• A 34 year woman succumbed to her injuries following a brutal rape and assault incident in suburban Mumbai.
• Once considered one of the safest cities in the country for females, Mumbai, under the regime of Uddhav Thackeray has turned into a nightmare for females, of all age groups.
• Uddhav’s henchmen from Shiv Sena, while downplaying the public’s grief as mere ‘crocodile tears’, aren’t shying away from using any sensitive issue as a tool for furthering their political ambitions.

 Mumbai, which used to be among the safest city in the country for women, is fast turning into a very unsafe place, thanks to the incompetence of the Uddhav government. On Thursday, 9 September, a 34-year old woman, was raped and brutally assaulted by a man in a stationary tempo in the Sakinaka area of suburban Mumbai. Unfortunately, on Saturday, the victim succumbed to her injuries and died at the hospital while she was undergoing treatment.

The further scrambling of macro data on the rape cases tells that till July of the ongoing year, 550 cases of rape were registered by Mumbai Police across the city. According to Mumbai Police officials, 303 accused were arrested for raping minors, while 142 were arrested for sexually assaulting majors.

Even in the previous years, the majority of the victims were minors. A few weeks ago, a report about a 12-year-old girl who was held captive and was sexually assaulted by six people for more than two months came out. The gang-rape survivor was physically assaulted for more than two months at different places by the six accused of the last two and half months in the Rajgurunagar area.

Also read: From being the safest state for women to being one of the most dangerous – Maharashtra’s disastrous fall

The police arrested the alleged offenders Sonya Ghumatkar, Akash Sunil Shinde, Paresh Manik Dhamale, Avadhut Santosh Kanse, Sainath Muluk, and Suraj Sunil Rode. According to the police, the perpetrators have confessed their crime.

Questions are being raised on women’s safety under the rule of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra. People are enraged by the state’s misgovernance and regarding the safety of women in Mumbai and Maharashtra, the state has emboldened criminals to perpetrate such heinous atrocities without fear of being caught by the authorities, yet there is no huge media coverage on it.

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On the other hand, Shiv Sena is making very bizarre and senseless statements against those criticizing rise in violence against women. “Shedding tears over the Sakinaka incident showed sensitivity of the mind, but when crocodile tears are shed, it creates fear and the seriousness of an incident is destroyed,” said Shiv Sena.

Also read: Shiv Sena government’s shameless clarification of Mumbai rape

The 45-year-old suspect of the Sakinaka rape case was arrested and charged with murder. The Police have also imposed SC/ST act against the rapist. “The victim belonged to a particular caste. Thus, we have applied the section of SC/ST Atrocities Act and we will be investigating the same. We had arrested the accused. In the interrogation, he had confessed to committing the crime. We have also recovered the weapon that was used in the crime,” said Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale.

The Shiv Sena government has turned the police into a private militia and using the police officers for vendetta against the opposition, journalists, and extortion. The state capacity is being used for the private benefits of the political leaders instead of the protection of citizens.

The Shiv Sena should stop playing the blame game and be held accountable for crimes against women in the state. Vague statements on baseless grounds like terming Mumbai as the ‘safest city’ in the world for women, should be avoided at all costs by the Shiv Sena.

After Maharashtra’s disastrous fall from being the safest state for women to being one of the most dangerous, the party should instead be actively working on creating a safe environment for women rather than issuing baseless statements.