Indian man arrested over rape of 10-year-old in Delhi
Sexual violence has topped the country's political agenda since the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old medical student on a bus
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Indian police have arrested a man after the rape of a 10-year-old girl.
The girl was playing near her home in Delhi's Sultanpuri neighbourhood when bus driver Rakesh Kaushal is alleged to have taken her to his vehicle.
Then the 47-year-old, who lives in the area, is alleged to have raped her.
Police arrested Kaushal on suspicion of rape after the victim's parents reported the crime and a medical examination confirmed that she was sexually assaulted, the Press Trust of India reported.
Sexual violence has topped the country's political agenda since the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old medical student on a bus, also in Delhi.
That case sparked outrage and widespread protest at the treatment of women in the country, which has seen a sharp fall in the numbers of foreign tourists, especially women, since the high-profile case hit the headlines.
And last week it emerged that another 10-year-old was allegedly raped two hours away from the capital. Her family are reportedly facing death threats in an attempt to force them to withdraw the complaint.
The Indian government has proposed a number of reforms to protect women, ranging from scrapping degrading medical examinations at police stations for rape victims and painting seats reserved for women on buses pink.
Delhi's transport minister Ramakant Goswami told the Hindustan Times: “Earlier, only the left row of the bus used to have reserved seats for women. With increased number of reserved seats, even the row of seats on the right side has seats for women.
“We have put stickers in the existing fleet but new buses will have pink-coloured seats for easy identification.”
The new buses will also come with built-in global positioning system devices and space to install web-cams or close circuit television to ensure that authorities know what is happening aboard the vehicles.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments