In videos that were circulated on messaging service WhatsApp until recently, two women were seen being gang-raped by men who even smiled for the camera. Describing the videos as “shocking and scary,” the Supreme Court today ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to immediately investigate them.
“It is a serious issue and something needs to be done. It is quite clear this issue is extremely serious and of great public importance,” the court said today. Earlier this month, a Hyderabad-based activist, Sunitha Krishnan, uploaded the videos on YouTube, asking people to help identify the rapists what she called #ShameTheRapistCampaign.
A day after the videos were uploaded, stones were thrown at the activist’s car in Charminar area in Hyderabad. However, the videos, believed to be six months old, were removed by YouTube, saying it violates terms of service. Krishnan, who is herself a rape survivor, had posted two separate videos. In one of the videos, five men were seen smiling as they took turns to gangrape a woman even as she pleaded to let her go.