Sixteen years ago, in India, there was an extended gang-rape…by 42 men, to be exact, over a period of 40 days.
In the Suryanelli case, a 16-year-old was abducted by a bus conductor who raped her, then passed her onto others, some of who were powerful and well-connected in Kerala at the time.
She was then discarded with no money and in no condition to return home – she couldn’t sit or stand because of her injuries.
And then?
35 people accused of raping her were convicted. But the Kerala High Court, three years later, reversed that decision, holding only one person guilty. The grounds for this verdict were criticised by many people.
Her family and the state prosecutor both appealed to the Supreme Court in 2005 against the High Court’s verdict. Nothing happened after that.
The family survives on her parents’ pensions. The victim was given a job as a peon in a government department but in February, she was arrested and suspended for financial misappropriation.
Now the Supreme Court has decided to hear her case.