Thousands of furious Indians swarmed the streets to publicly - and violently - kill a man who was suspected of being a rapist.
The
pictures have emerged after they broke into a prison, kidnapped the
man, stripped him naked and mercilessly beat him to death in front of a
frenzied crowd.
A 25-year-old believed to be part of the mob was injured when police opened fire and he later died in hospital.
Taking
justice into their own hands, the angry crowd was a terrifying
portrayal of the country's increasingly aggressive stance against sexual
violence.
Chilling: Despite the horrific and
public nature of the attack, the violent mob is an embodiment of the
country's increasingly tough stance towards - and disgust for sexual
violence
Lynched: The gang overpowered security
at the Central Jail in the city of Dimapur and grabbed the man before
beating him to death. It is unclear whether he is dead in this shocking
image
It
overpowered security at the Central Jail in the city of Dimapur and
grabbed the man who apparently raped a female student multiple times
last month.
According
to local media reports, he died while being dragged four miles through
the streets as people beat and pelted him with stones.
He has been identified as a 35-year-old used car trader, according to The Indian Express.
The man allegedly raped a student from a local women's college on February 24, and he was arrested a day later.
'A
mass protest rally against the rape was held at Dimapur this morning
after which students and angry people forced into the district jail and
managed to pull out the accused,' the Press Trust of India news agency said.
It has been reported the crowd tore down two gates before dragging him to the town's clock tower.
It's said they also set fire to homes and shops in an area where the suspect ran his business.
Several
people were injured when police used batons and opened fire, while
officers were hurt when the mob pelted them with stones in Nagaland
state in northeast India. The police later removed the man's body.
'The situation is very tense,' town police superintendent Meren Jamir told the Hindustan Times. 'We are trying our very best to restore order.'
Accused: The alleged rapist has been identified as a 35-year-old used car trader, according to The Indian Express
Protesters: A mass rally was held in Dimapur today by those who oppose the rape of a student last month
India
is already in midst of a raging controversy over a government order to
ban the broadcast of a documentary about the December 2012 gang-rape of a
young student.
The
incident, which sparked outrage both in India and around the world,
highlighted the frightening level of violence against women in the
country.
The
Indian government has also asked YouTube to block access to the
documentary, claiming that its broadcast violated certain key agreements
with the filmmaker.
But
the Delhi gang-rape victim's father has called on all countrymen to
watch the documentary, which showed his daughter's killer blaming the
student for 'being out at night'.
India's
Daughter was described as the 'bitter truth' by the young woman's
father after it quoted the views of her rapist Mukesh Singh, who is on
death row over the 2012 attack.
The
film by award-winning Briton Leslee Udwin, who produced 1999 indie hit
East is East, was due to air on the BBC and Indian news channel NDTV to
mark International Women's Day this Sunday.
But
it was dropped by NDTV following the ban and the BBC brought forward
its screening to last night, citing a strong public interest.
Today
India's Home Minister Rajnath Singh vowed there would be consequences
for the Corporation, telling NDTV: 'We had asked to not release the
documentary but BBC still released it.
'We
will investigate and the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) will take
action accordingly. The conditions have been breached so action will be
taken accordingly. I won't comment any further.'
The
hour-long documentary aired as part of the long-running Storyville
series on BBC Four, and is believed to have been accessed by many in
India online.
Today
the victim's family showed their support for the film, saying the
rapist's comments had to be be exposed because they expressed how many
people still think.
The victim's father, who is named in the documentary but kept anonymous by some international news agencies, told NDTV the film was 'the bitter truth'.
'Everyone
should watch the film,' he said. 'If a man can speak like that in jail,
imagine what he would say if he was walking free?'
The victim's mother added she did not object to the ban but believed Singh's views were widespread in India.
'I
don't care what the government does, bans the film, doesn't ban the
film, the only thing I know is that nobody is afraid,' she said. 'It is
not only Mukesh who thinks like this.'
Mukesh
Singh was one of five men convicted over the rape and murder of the
physiotherapy student, who was lured aboard a bus along with a friend in
December 2012.
Once
inside, bus driver Singh, his brother Ram, gym instructor Vinay Sharma,
20, bus cleaner Akshay Thakur, 28, fruit-seller Pawan Gupta, 19, and an
unnamed teenager launched the attack.
The
attackers beat her friend and took turns raping the woman. They
penetrated her with a rod, leaving severe internal injuries that caused
her death.
She died a fortnight later after suffering terrible injuries to her abdomen, genitals and intestines.
Her death prompted mass protests and led to speedier trials and tougher penalties for rape.
Mass protests: The December 2012
He claimed 'you can't clap with one hand - it takes two' and insisted: 'A decent girl won't roam around at 9 o'clock at night.
'A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy. Boy and girl are not equal.
'Housework
and housekeeping is for girls, not roaming in discos and bars at night
doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes. About 20 per cent of girls
are good.'
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