Eight month-old baby raped in Indian capital Delhi

New Delhi, India - An eight-month-old baby girl has been raped in India’s capital, New Delhi, allegedly by her 28-year-old cousin while her parents were out working.

The rape has provoked angry reactions from activists who are pressing for long-pending police accountability to aid in the fight against sexual violence in the country.The mother found her child bleeding upon returning from work in the evening. The doctors at the hospital confirmed the rape and said the baby had to undergo surgery.

"I had left for work leaving my children at home. My wife works too. So she too left for work soon after. When she came back, she saw blood-soaked bed and clothes of the child. When she told this to her sister-in-law she made excuses. My child is in critical condition now," the father, a labourer in the city, told Indian news agency ANI.

The accused has been arrested, police in Delhi said."We arrested the accused yesterday [Monday]. He is the 28 year-old cousin of the victim," said Parvati, Additional Sub-Inspector at Subhash Nagar Police Station.

"We have booked him under 376 Indian Penal Code and section 6 of the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences. The investigation is still underway," Parvati told Al Jazeera.

'No deterrence'

A Delhi government official told Al Jazeera the child is on life support and that her internal organs were damaged during the assault.

The Chief of the Delhi Commission for Women, Swati Maliwal, after visiting the child in hospital, said she was frustrated with the "complete systemic apathy" and the fact that "people just turn the pages of the newspapers and carry on with their lives".

"I can still hear her screams and cries. As DCW chief, I feel horrified at this abuse of a child, I feel as if I have been raped. She is on life support right now," Maliwal told Al Jazeera.

The incident is likely to fuel continuing demands for policing reforms to combat sexual violence.

"In every case of child rape, we need to deliver the death penalty within six months of the crime. At present, cases drag on for years. There is no deterrence, no fear. The implementation of already existing laws is also terrible," Maliwal said.

"All police stations in Delhi are currently functioning at half its sanctioned strength, we need to improve this. There is lack of accountability of the police. We need more forensic labs, many special courts to deal with child rapes," she added.It has been more than five years since a brutal Delhi gang-rape that galvanised a movement against sexual assault in India but horrific incidents of brutal rapes, including that of children, continue to be reported from across the country.

According to National Crime Records Bureau data for 2016, incidents of rape of children in India increased by over 82 percent compared with 2015.

In 2016, police in India registered 38,947 rape complaints, an increase of 12.4 percent from the previous year.

In Delhi's adjacent Haryana state 10 rapes, mostly of minors including a three-year-old, were reported within 10 days this month.

Citation: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/month-baby-raped-indian-capital-delhi-180130074258827.html

Response: 

Audience:

I think that the audience of this article is towards the police and the government. The article clearly talks about how the investigators are only doing their work halfheartedly and the author brings this issue into the light so that the people can see the problem.

Bias: There is a huge bias against the investigators and the government. The article states that the child rape issue is getting worse in India. However, it mentions that people are not putting a lot of effort into these issues. There is a lot of bitterness and a negative light on the police stations and those who are involved in this case. When I read this article, I felt horrible inside and I'm sure that most of the readers would too. This is a big problem that the police need to put more effort into. This situation includes children's lives and the society of India. I think that the government really needs to do something about this issue.

Purpose: This article was written to show that the problem of child rape is something that needs to be taken care of. Also, this article shows that the government is not very strong in keeping the society safe in India. The fact that the rape complaints increased by 12.4 percent shows that this is a big problem that the police and the government need to take care of.