Mumbai: 16 year old girl punched in the nose for objecting to noise

The incident of alleged physical and sexual assault of a minor in Mumbai with onlookers failing to react has put a question on how safe the city or as a whole the country is for women and children. The incident has also put to question the role of the police.

Mumbai is considered to be a relatively safe city for women and children where residents are quick to react to any such incident. However the incident of October 17 seems to say otherwise.

The video footage shows the girl being physically and sexually assaulted while 4 onlookers remain mere spectators at Nehru Nagar, Mumbai. The girl puts on a brave fight but is overpowered by the attacker.

Though a complaint was lodged at the Nehru Nagar and the assaulter was arrested, he was later released on bail claims CNN News18.

The assaulter was charged with Sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt.

"Such assaulters should be charged under more stringent laws including Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO.) Bystanders should also react. They could have easily overpowered one assaulter. As responsible citizens we all have moral responsibilities" demanded Kabita Saxena of Woman and Child Welfare Foundation, Mumbai talking to Oneindia.

Political parties have come down heavily criticizing the incident. Shaina NC, BJP Spokesperson stated that a BJP delegation had met the Maharashtra Chief Minister and Home Minister who has assured of stringent action. "We are hoping of a landmark judgement in this case" stated the BJP Spokesperson.

Many are of the opinion that fear of future legal complexities compel residents to remain mere spectators. In such cases Good Samaritan laws need to be enacted as empowered by the Supreme Court helping citizens helping victims in road accidents.

Even the social media should be used to spread awareness. "Social networking is a very powerful tool. One can use it to spread awareness and launch campaigns empowering citizens and prompting them to react to such situation" stated Nirnay John who runs an NGO MARG effectively combating human trafficking.

Nirnay referred to the social media network campaign "Touch Me Not" launched by 26 year old Anita Ramesh of Bangalore on the wake of the mass molestation incident of New Year's eve celebration on MG Road, Bengaluru in 2016 where women revelers were targeted and allegedly mass molested.

The campaign had appealed to the residents of Bengaluru to step out and protest.

OneIndia News