Indian media reported a significant increase this week in Google internet searches for “rape video” and “rape porn” by users in the country, apparently searching for images of a doctor being brutally raped and murdered in a hospital seminar room.
The horrific incident took place at a public hospital in Kolkata where the 31-year-old medical intern was working. The woman, who authorities have not revealed her name, is believed to have sneaked into a seminar room at the hospital to take a nap during work on August 9. She was found dead that weekend with visible signs of violence on her body, including severe injuries to her face, eyes, neck and genital area.
Authorities soon arrested a man who identified himself as Sanjay Roy, a “civilian volunteer” for the Kolkata Police. Roy reportedly confessed to the crime, and Indian media reported Reported Police found violent pornography on his phone and said he may have an “addiction” to it.
Quinton Indian Outlet Reported An analysis of web searches in India was reported on Tuesday to have found a surge in interest in searching for the names of the victims, whose information was released despite an official ban on their publication. Many of those searching for the victims’ names also added terms like “rape” or “rape video,” or conducted image searches of the victims’ names, likely looking for images of the attacks on them.
Indian media outlet World Is One News (WION) later Supported The report conducted its own investigation into popular searches and found that searches for “rape porn” and “full-length video” had spiked following the incident, along with the doctor’s name.
India Today Reported On Tuesday, the search “Kolkata doctor case full story,” used alongside image and video searches, was also reported to have become more popular.
“According to Google Trends data, the phrase ‘The whole story of the Kolkata doctor case’ has been searched more than 200,000 times. [2 million] “Photos and videos of the victim have been searched more than 200,000 times in the last six days,” India Today noted.
Australian news website News.com.au Documented In India, Google Trends searches for the woman’s name and the phrase “rape video” increased 100 percent, with notable increases also seen in countries such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The outlet reported that the increase in searches coincided with the spread of “unconfirmed rumors” that Roy had recorded the rape and murder and uploaded it online, although at the time of writing Indian authorities had not indicated that such footage existed.
India’s Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that it is illegal to publish the names of victims of fatal sexual assaults, but that did not stop photos and videos of the Kolkata victim, along with her name, from spreading rapidly online, infuriating the court.
“Photos and video clips have been flooding the media. This is extremely worrying. Though we are the first country to recognise freedom of speech, there are well-defined norms,” the top court said. said In a statement this week, the court on Tuesday ordered the removal of all such identifying information from the internet, saying: “Court decisions like the Nipun Saxena (case) have said that names of victims of sexual assault will not be made public.”
“We therefore direct that in accordance with this order, all references to the names, photographs and video clips of the persons who died in the above incident be immediately removed from all social media platforms and electronic media,” the court’s ruling said, according to New Delhi Television (NDTV). It is unclear whether the court will have the power to force foreign-based platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to also remove these references.
The shocking murder prompted a nationwide strike by doctors, who stopped all non-essential work for over a week, demanding that the government provide adequate security for healthcare workers, especially women who work long hours and night shifts. The strike was a response not only to this isolated incident, but also to a long modern history of violence against doctors in India, including cases where family members have abused doctors when patients die, or beaten them up in pursuit of better treatment.
supreme court Urged The doctors demanded an end to their strike on Thursday and “emphasized that steps have been taken to institutionalise their grievances,” it said. HinduismDoctors are calling for increased security, especially in overcrowded public hospitals, and tougher penalties for those who attack health workers.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the incident on India’s Independence Day, August 15, before leaving for Poland and Ukraine this week.
“As a society, we have to take a serious look at atrocities committed against our mothers, sisters and daughters. There is widespread anger among the public about this. I feel that anger,” Modi told an audience at an Independence Day event. “Crime against women should be investigated swiftly and those responsible for such devilish acts should be given severe punishment.”
“Those who commit such crimes should be prepared to be hanged,” he warned.
