'Nothing has changed in 11 years': Nirbhaya's mother rues rising crimes against women

New Delhi: "It has been 11 years and nothing has changed. We got justice with everyone's cooperation but several cases are stuck in the lower court for 10 to 12 years," said the mother of the 23-year-old paramedic student whose gang-rape and murder on December 16, 2012, had seared the nation's soul.

The student, who came to be known as Nirbhaya, the fearless one, was raped and brutally assaulted inside a moving bus in south Delhi by six people, before being thrown out on the road. She died on December 29, 2012, in Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

Of the six accused, Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail days after the trial began in the case while the juvenile was released in 2015 after spending three years in a correctional home. The other four convicts, Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) were hanged to death in Tihar jail on March 20, 2020.

Nirbhaya's father Badrinath Singh claimed that even now, whenever incidents of rape happen, nobody stands with the victim. "We got justice as the whole nation was with us. Fast track court helped us to get justice for our daughter," he said.

Her mother Asha Devi said that cases of crimes against women have not decreased still. "Laws were made, but nothing was done. Sometimes we get so disappointed by the feeling that nothing is going to change. Many cases come to us also and we can only extend our moral support to them."

Badrinath Singh said, "Giving justice to one Nirbhaya will not give justice to everyone. What happened to Anjali who was dragged on New Year's Eve? During the investigation, it was found that the accused were drunk, but it was not her fault."

"When the protests were held in our daughter's case, several women took part in it with their children and faced water canon. People struggled a lot during that period. But nothing has changed," he added.

Anjali Singh, an employee of an event management firm, was allegedly dragged under a car for kilometres on December 31 night in 2022 in Delhi before she succumbed to serious wounds while still under the car.

Nirbhaya's mother said that the system should function properly. There should be change, justice should be given on time and police should also work properly, she said.

"What happened to the case in which 25-year-old Anjali was dragged for 12 kilometres? I met her family. Her mother is not well and she was the only earning person in the family," Asha Devi said.

According to a National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, Delhi recorded the highest number of crimes against women among the 19 metropolitan cities in India in 2022. The national capital reported 14,158 cases of crimes against women in 2022 followed by 6,176 in Mumbai and 3,924 in Bengaluru.

In 2022, crime against women in Delhi witnessed a 1.25 per cent on-year increase from 13,982 in 2021.

According to the NCRB data, Delhi recorded 1,204 rape cases in 2022. It also reported 129 dowry death cases. Five acid attack cases against women were recorded while there were also three attempted attacks. The city also witnessed 3,909 kidnappings or abductions of women in 2022.