Rajasthan: Dalit woman alleges rape in Jalore

JAIPUR: Jalore police have registered a case of rape of a Dalit woman wherein the survivor was allegedly sexually assaulted four months back and she was allegedly forced to film the act. She lodged the case after the video was uploaded online and her brother saw it. The accused is yet to be arrested.
“The woman registered a case alleging that she was raped by an individual who forced her to take a video recording of the assault.The video was uploaded online and her brother saw it, following which she registered a case. We are investigating the matter,” said SP Jalore Shyam Singh.
The 2019 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report has revealed alarming figures for Rajasthan with the state reporting 902 gang-rape cases, highest in the country. It is followed by Uttar Pradesh, but the difference is massive, almost twice the number.
After a Dalit woman was gang-raped in Thanagazi in April 2019 in front of her husband, the local police station had not registered a case for three days after the assault leading to massive outrage following which the state government made it easier to lodge FIRs.
It was found that in 88% of the cases till September 2019, the accused were known to the complainants and in 43% of the cases, FIRs were filed. Also in many instances, when a woman lodges a domestic violence case under IPC Section 498 A, she can additionally add rape and gang-rape in the FIR, claimed the official.
Not just in instances of rape, but the NCRB report puts the state on top when it comes to cases of assault on women, domestic violence as well as attempt to rape. While 6,977 cases were registered of assault on women, which is the highest in the country, the desert state had 18,432 cases of domestic violence.
While Rajasthan is leading in the number of rape cases with 5,997 incidents, it is also on top with 1,019 attempt-to-rape cases.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)