Teen Stabbed in Delhi. 35 Times.
Meenakshi, a class 11 student was returning home after buying groceries at 7:30pm on Thursday when two brothers started harassing her. When the 19-year-old resisted, they stabbed her on her face, neck and body. 35 times.
Meenakshi had filed a molestation case against the two men in 2013. Two years later, they murdered her.
“She ran away from them and entered our balcony. They followed her there and stabbed her till she fell unconscious,” a witness told TV channels.
Meenakshi’s mother, who was also stabbed while trying to save her daughter, claims that the neighbours actually threw Meenakshi out of the house as they did not want to get ‘involved’ in the matter.
This is the bystander effect. That come from apathy, or the fear of getting entangled in a long drawn police or court battle, that leads onlookers todo NOTHING.
Meenakshi was attacked on the street, with onlookers watching the girl get attacked. The more public an incident, the less likely is a bystander moved to help the victim.
This incident isn’t the first time witnesses have failed to help those in need of assistance.
Cries For Help Go Unheard as Wife and Child Die in Jaipur
In April 2013, an injured Kanhaiya Lal was seen clinging on to his 5 yr old son Tanish while crying for help, in vain, as his wife Guddi and 8 month old toddler Arushi bled to death on a highway near Jaipur. Hundreds of passersby moved on without paying heed.
Woman Molested While Crowd Looks On and Cheers in Patna
A woman was molested in broad daylight in Patna’s busy Gandhi Maidan area on July 24, 2009. Onlookers could be seen jeering and cheering instead of helping her out.
Drunk Revellers Strip and Molest Woman in Mumbai
In 2008, Pictures of a woman getting molested by a crowd while they were out to enjoy New Year Eve’s celebration at Mumbai’s historic Gateway of India shook the city otherwise known for safety of woman. Not having any molestation cases reported itself made news on New Year’s Eve in 2012.
Girl Molested Publicly in Guwahati
A girl was molested by a group of people outside a bar in Guwahati on July 9, 2012. The crowd looked on as some men even joined in. 11 men were eventually convicted in this case.
In China, Child Run Over Twice As People Look On
In October 2011, video of a Chinese toddler being trampled by two vehicles outraged the world. It wasn’t before 18 people had already passed her by that she received any help. The incident was shocking enough to ignite a nation-wide debate in China on increasing moral vacuum.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)