THEME 5: ROLE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY IN FUELING FEUDAL, CASTEIST POWER DYNAMICS
CASE STUDY: VIDEOTAPING OF GANG RAPES AS A TICKET TO IMPUNITY
State: Telangana
Date of the incident: February 2016
Age of the survivor: 22
A 22-year old woman was gangraped by two men, while another man had recorded the act on his mobile phone in Karimnagar district of Telangana. The survivor aspired to become a police officer. The accused were the batchmates of the survivor and were taking coaching classes with her to join the police force.
The incident took place when the three accused, the survivor, and her woman friend were returning to their village after watching a movie. The trio took the two women to a hillock and the survivor’s friend sensed danger and ran away. The accused then raped, filmed the survivor who belonged to the Dalit community. They later blackmailed her by threatening to circulate the video clip and then continued to sexually assault her.
The survivor told her parents about the incident after a week, following which her relatives beat up the three accused and they had to be admitted to a hospital in the neighbouring Warangal district.