Gang rape of young girls in India has skyrocketed since last year. The recent rape of young girls in Mumbai and now in Lucknow is causing massive ripple effects. Young girls are outright afraid to go out alone especially in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

In an incident that is creating ripples in the city, a minor girl working as a domestic help was allegedly tortured and gangraped by three men who forced her into their car while she was on her way back from work.

Though the incident took place on Monday, it came to light only on Wednesday evening when her family approached police asking for action and protection against death threats.

According to a police complaint, the 15-year-old was dragged into the car while returning home around 8 pm on Monday. She was gagged and driven to a secluded spot where she was molested and tortured with cigarette butts. She was then forced at gunpoint to accompany the three boys to a vacant house where she was raped.

"My screams were drowned in the loud music that was deliberately played by the boys," she has told the police. Though the police have confirmed cigarette burns on her body, she has complained that personnel at the Aashiyana police station, where she went to after being dumped by the men on Tuesday, did not have her medically examined.

"Only after I gave them an undertaking that I would not talk about the incident to anyone did they agree to set me free," she has alleged.

Commenting on the police role, district police chief Navneet Sikera: "All I can assure you is that our men are on the job and we will track down the culprits at all costs." And while the wheels of justice get moving, the victim's father, a small-time waste-seller, has been doing the rounds of various newspaper offices to mobilise public opinion. He has apparently told the police that he was being intimidated and offered allurements to withdraw the case.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, have condemned the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government for the increasing incidents of crime in the state.

"When such is the state of affairs in the state capital, you can imagine the lawlessness that prevails in other parts of the state," said a Congress leader, citing crime bureau reports showing that as many as 309 minor girls were raped in the state during 2002.

The incident is one more blot in a state where three to four women are raped a day and where official statistics recorded 1,425 rapes in 2003.

Sharan Basavraj, 22, an electrical engineering student from Bangalore, India, has been arrested and charged with raping the 28-year old woman from Queensland.

Karnataka police sub-inspector Kiran Kumar said the woman was staying with her husband in Paradise Beach, a resort popular with Western tourists at Gokarna, on the Northern Coast of Karnataka.

Police said in the early hours of Saturday, the woman was sleeping inside the cottage with the doors open as it was hot, as her husband slept outside.

The woman claims that she opened the door to someone in her apartment, thinking it was her husband.

Then the accused forced himself on her and raped her.

Her husband woke up hearing the noise and saw his wife's attacker fleeing. He gathered other foreign nationals staying in nearby cottages, captured the alleged rapist and locked him up in his room until he was taken into custody by police.

The accused was holidaying with a group of boys and staying in a cottage at Gokarna town near the resort where the Australian woman was staying with her husband.

Her husband who woke up hearing the noise, saw him fleeing. He gathered other foreign nationals staying in nearby cottages, locked him up in his room till morning when he was taken into custody. By 10.30am on Saturday, the victim filed a complaint alleging rape and the police arrested Sharan

Western range DIG Gopal B Hosur said Sharan broke into the cottage where the woman was staying and raped her.

"The accused was touring the place along with six friends. We are ascertaining whether he was under the influence of alcohol when the incident took place,'' he said.

An autorickshaw driver and his accomplice allegedly raped a Somali woman in southeast Delhi's Nizamuddin last week. But a case was lodged only on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old, a refugee, took an auto from her house around 9 p.m.

on March 26, police said. After driving for sometime, the auto driver reportedly stopped at an isolated spot near a metro construction site.

"The woman alleged that the driver and another man then raped her. She could not recognize the spot.

The driver then allegedly dropped her home and threatened her not to report the incident. She told her relatives two days later, who encouraged her to go to Nizamuddin Police Station," a senior police officer said.

A medical examination confirmed rape. In a separate incident, a 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her 19-year-old neighbour in New Ashok Nagar.

SRINAGAR, APR 28 : Bail orders granted to detainees booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) by the courts are generally not responded to by the authorities. Ailing Hajra Bano, a widow is fighting for the justice for her son. Having no source of income the old lady finds it hard even to survive. Hailing from Malbagh, Hazratbal (Srinagar), she somehow manages to fight for her son. " Life for me has been too cruel. I lost my husband and now when I could pin hopes on my son, destiny had something else for me". Controlling her tears, she continues, " I have to travel far and wide just to have a glimpse of my son that he is fine". Taking a pause and moving few steps back, she maintains, " My pains seem unending." Hajra's son Mehraj- ud -Din was booked under PSA, the detention that was later quashed under release order No. 30th October 2003 J & K High Court, Srinagar. The order of detention was vide No. DMS/ PSA/ dated 02 - 07 - 2002. Petition was, however, allowed on 28 - 10 - 2003. Superintendent Central Jail, Kot- Balwal was directed to release the detainee forth will, the court papers read. But so far the detainee has not been set free. Though he has been transferred to Srinagar jails, his mother finds it difficult to trace him. "Transferring him from one jail to other, now lying in a jail within the premises of the city", his mother tearfully stated " This is the way human rights are honoured in the state. Being feeble and handicapped, I can not run from post to pillar to know about the whereabouts of my son. Financially also I am not sound to arrange for the required formalities, time and again. But the law of the land fails to see all this."

Srinagar, March 8: Raja Begum of Tumpora Handwara, is paying a heavy price for raising her voice against the SHO Handwara. Raja Begum has alleged that the SHO had detained her in Police Station Handwara in December 2004 and had molested her. However, she displayed exemplary courage and narrated her woeful tale in front of the media and had gone to the court for seeking justice. Raja Begum raising her voice has infuriated the concerned officer, who has threatened her of dire consequences. She and her family members are very scared to visit their home in Handawara. Raja begum said, " I and my family members are living under the constant fear and we don't know what future holds for us. I had thought that, if I raise my voice against the said officer and would make the people aware about what, I have under gone, it will shake the conscience of those people who are enjoying the echelons of power." She added, "however, I raising my voice has hardly made any difference as till today no enquiry has been initiated against the said officer. Instead we have become the scape goats and we are facing immense mental torture." It is in place to mention here that Handwara police had registered a case against her family members including her husband Ghulam Mohammad Bhat and her brother- in- law Farooq Ahmed Bhat on some dispute with their cousins, Abdul Ahad Khan and Bashir Khan. Later police had arrested her brother in law, who was released on bail later. Raja Begum had alleged that she was taken to the Police station Handwara from her house, where she was detained for one full day. She had alleged that the concerned SHO molested her and took Rs.700/ from her before releasing her. Her story appeared in many local dailies, however till date no action has been initiated against the said officer. Raja said, " on 3rd March a police constable Mohammad Yosuf came to our house and told me that, we should meet the SHO." She added, " he told us not to come to the police station, as 'Sahab' wants to meet us outside the police station. He assured us that if we grease their palms, we won't be troubled and our case will be challaned in court." He husband Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, who was accompanying he said, " we told the cop to present the chalan in the court and we will fight the case on our own. However, he refused saying that case won't be challaned until their palms are not greased." Bhat says that he wants to migrate from the said village along with his family members. "We have been undergoing severe mental torture and I don't want to stay there." Baramulla Raja Ajaz Ali Khan said, " I have told the concerned SHO to present the challan in the court." He added, " if the allegations leveled by the said lady prove to be true, I will make sure that action is initiated against the said officer."

New Delhi, Monday 1 December 2008: Every 60 minutes, two women are raped in this country.

What is more horrendous is that 133 elderly women were sexually assaulted last year, according to the latest report prepared by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

A total of 20,737 cases of rape were reported last year registering a 7.2% increase over the previous year, with Madhya Pradesh becoming the “rape capital” of the country by topping the list of such incidents.

Going by the NCRB statistics, two women are raped in the country every hour.

Madhya Pradesh (3,010) accounted for 14.5 per cent of the total cases, with West Bengal following with 2,106 such incidents. Records of high incidence in other states are Uttar Pradesh (1,648), Bihar (1,555) and Rajasthan (1,238).

The national capital had 598 cases in which 602 women were sexually assaulted.

In its report ‘Crime in India - 2007′, the NCRB noted that offenders were known to the victims in as many as 19,188 cases (92.5 per cent) that included 6,902 incidents in which neighbours were involved.

Parents or close family members were involved in 405 cases while in 1,448 cases relatives were involved. “Everywhere in this country, over 90 per cent of the victims are raped by person known to them,” a senior police official said.

Women in the age group of 18 to 30 years were the largest chunk among the victims (11,984) followed by 3,530 victims in the age group of 30-50 years.

While 617 victims were below the age of 10 years, 4,507 were between 10 and 18 years, the report said.

The report examines how systematic sexual violence against women was used deliberately by Hindu mobs to inflict maximum suffering and humiliation on the whole Muslim community.

It also looks at how the state government of Gujarat failed to prevent or stop the attacks, how the local police ignored and sometimes took part in the violence against women, and at how both the Gujarat and the federal Indian government have failed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Amnesty International is asking members of the public in the UK to write to the Gujarat authorities asking them to pursue justice for the victims of sexual violence.

Bilqis Yakoob Rasool, who lost 14 family members in the violence, and who was five months pregnant when she was gang-raped and left for dead, said:

"They started molesting the girls and tore off their clothes. Our naked girls were raped in front of the crowd. They killed Shamin's baby who was two days old. They killed my maternal uncle and my father's sister and her husband too.

"After raping the women they killed all of them... They killed my baby too. They threw her in the air and she hit a rock. After raping me, one of the men kept a foot on my neck and hit me."

Because of the way the police had stood by and even participated in the violence, many women and girls who survived the attacks were too frightened to report them to the police.

Bilqis however did go to the police, but found that they initially refused to record the complaint, and when later forced to consider it quickly closed the case saying those responsible could not be found.

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:

"The Gujarat state government grossly failed to protect Muslims, especially women and girls, during the violence.

"The fact that it still refuses to admit failings and express regret, despite evidence from many respected local observers, is a further insult to the victims."

Gujarat state both failed to prevent the violence and then failed to intervene and end it. Gujarat officials, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claimed that a fire on a train on 27 February 2002 was planned and caused by Muslims, and then took no steps to prevent or stop the widespread and systematic attacks on members of the Muslim minority which followed.

Gujarat state government subsequently failed to cooperate with the National Human Rights Commission, or to provide redress. The Indian state government also failed to intervene and insist that the minority Muslim community was protected, and that the victims of the violence received justice.

Indian human rights campaigners, women's organisations, the Indian national media and the Supreme Court have however all supported victims of violence and contributed to restoring hope to some victims.

In August 2004, the Supreme Court ordered that over 2,000 complaints closed by police, and some 200 cases which ended in acquittals, be reviewed with a view to possible remedial action.

Kate Allen concluded:

"Little has been done to ensure that such violence does not happen again. The Gujarat state government and the Indian federal government must ensure that justice is done in order to make it clear that these crimes will not be tolerated.

"For many victims however justice will come too late. Many women were burned alive after they were raped, leaving no trace of the crimes against them. Scores of other women never filed rape complaints, because they were prevented from doing so or were too frightened or ashamed to do so. These are the forgotten victims of the violence."

The report was shared with the governments of India and Gujarat prior to publication. Both governments provided detailed comments which are reflected in the report.