“Porn is passe. These real life crimes are the rage,” said a shopkeeper to TOI at Agra’s Kasganj market. And the crime he is talking about is rape.
According to a report published by the TOI, hundreds and thousands of ‘rape videos’ are being sold in shops across UP right under the nose of the police and administration. Depending on the “exclusivity” of the clips, which are 30 seconds to even 5 minutes long, they are priced anywhere from Rs 50 to 150.
It’s still “under the counter” and dealers will talk only to those who’ve come armed with a trusted customer’s “reference”, but it is open and rampant. Dealers will download videos into your smart phone or put them in your pen drive.
Sometimes individuals or organised gangs download such stuff from Twitter, Tumbler or Facebook accounts and sell them. Sometimes, however, culprits involved in rapes or assaults take videos of the crime and post them online, reported TOI.
A senior cop told TOI that rapists invariably also record the crime on their phones. It is then used as a blackmailing tool to either bully the victims -stopping them from going to the cops -or to pressure them into further sexual submission. “A threat to post the rape online is very potent,” he said. Speaking to TOI, Agra city SP Ghule Sushil Chandrabhan said, “In the past we have conducted raids at Tajganj and Sadar areas and arrested one for selling explicit videos and pirated films. We will continue to raid such places.” Sources in the police said it would be close to impossible to put an end to the trend.
It’s the same story in other cities, whether Meerut or Bareilly, where last week a 21 year-old committed suicide when she found that after posting her videos online, one accused even sold her nude pictures to local residents at Rs 3 per print, reported TOI.
Sourced from TNN, Featured image courtesy: www.india.com
