Delhi gangrape: Victim’s friend appears on TV; slams police, ‘apathetic’ public

'Why do the police need to pat themselves for catching the rapists, it's their job'; police to file case against Zee News which aired the interview

The 23-year-old gangrape victim's friend appeared on television on Friday evening to say that while the protests against the crime were welcome, the fact remains that no one from the public had tried to help the two of them on December 16 as they lay beaten and bloodied on the road for nearly half an hour.

"If we are lighting candles to support someone, I feel that we should also help someone who is lying on the road. We were without clothes. We tried to stop people passing by. For about 25 minutes, several auto-rickshaws, cars and bikes slowed down but no one stopped. Then someone called the police. Three PCR vans arrived after 45 minutes, before that no one came to help us," the victim's friend said in an interview to Sudhir Chaudhary, editor of Zee News.

"We didn't have clothes, we were not able to stand and there were people passing by... They could have taken us to hospital, given us clothes in that crucial one and a half hours. For a dying person, every minute is important," he said, adding that even when the police finally took them to hospital, "no one even brought us a blanket".

"At the hospital, we had to wait and I had to literally beg for clothes. I managed to borrow a mobile from someone to call my family," the friend, who is the only witness to the horrific assault on the woman, said.

He also said that the police had delayed taking them to hospital. "Three PCR vans fought over which police station had jurisdiction, which delayed our admission to hospital," he said.

Soon after the interview was aired, Delhi Police decided to register a case against Zee News. The case would be registered under section 228 A of the Indian Penal Code, which pertains to the disclosure of the identity of a victim of certain offences, including rape, Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said.

... contd.

ALSO READ

India, China end stand off, withdraw troops from Daulat Beg Oldie sector

Sonia Gandhi consults A K Antony on Pawan Bansal issue

Coalgate probe: No accused or suspect let off, says CBI chief Ranjit Sinha

UPA only worried about 'nephews and uncles': Narendra Modi