In Delhi, the capital of India, a 20-year-old man has been arrested by the police for the brutal stabbing and murder of a 16-year-old female friend in a public setting.
Disturbing video footage of the assault shows the man repeatedly stabbing the girl while using a large stone to crush her head. Despite the horrific nature of the attack, many bystanders can be seen watching or simply walking by.
Authorities have revealed that the couple had a romantic relationship and had quarreled just hours before the murder took place on Sunday. The girl was on her way to attend a friend’s son’s birthday party when she was viciously attacked, according to senior police official Ravi Kumar Singh.
Delhi: CCTV video of gruesome murder of a minor hindu girl by sahil s/o sarfaraz goes viral. She was stabbed multiple times and crushed with stone in full public view in Shahbad diary area of Delhi; Killer absconding. FIR registered pic.twitter.com/B3HdJ3Y9dY
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) May 29, 2023
The suspect, identified as Sahil, was apprehended near Bulandshahr district in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh. The investigation is ongoing, and further details cannot be disclosed at this time, stated Mr. Singh.
The viral video of this gruesome murder has sparked widespread anger and outrage on social media. Hashtags such as #DelhiMurder and #DelhiCrime, along with the name of the locality where the crime occurred, Shahbad Dairy, have been trending on Twitter as people express their shock and condemnation.
In a tweet, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal described the murder as “very sad and unfortunate” and said that “criminals have become fearless, there is no fear of the police”.
“The crime was captured on CCTV. Several people saw this, but did not pay heed. Delhi has become extremely unsafe for women and girls,” news agency ANI quoted the Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal as saying.
The chairperson of the National Commission for Women Rekha Sharma said the crime showed the “insensitivity” of the people of Delhi.
“There were several people at the spot when the incident took place but no one took any action to help the girl. The case should be heard in a fast-track court and the verdict should come as early as possible,” she said.
This is not the first gruesome crime in India where bystanders have been called out for their apathy. In the past too, citizens have been criticised for watching or making videos instead of helping victims of crime.
There was similar outrage and much introspection after the December 2012 gangrape – and the subsequent death – of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on a bus in Delhi.
Her male companion, who was also assaulted but survived, later recounted how they lay injured and bleeding – but no-one stopped to help them for 25 minutes.