In Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, you can buy a gang rape video at a mere price of 20-200 rupees. Rape videos for sale in India have become a booming market where one can buy these ‘local films’ over the counter and jerk off his way to pleasure at seeing women and children being sexually violated.

In an investigation by Al Jazeera, several clips that appeared to depict rape videos for sale were found across the state. They cost from Rs 20 to Rs 200 (30 cents to $3) and are transmitted to a customer’s mobile phone in a matter of seconds.

The faces of the women are visible in these films. Their cries of mercy are audible. The attacks on them are brutal.

It is rife in Uttar Pradesh where rapists film themselves attacking women in order to use the video to blackmail victims who want to take them to court. Most of the times, they are not made with the intention of selling. More often than not, the videos are stolen from the perpetrator’s phones when they’re unaware.

Most of the times, they are not made with the intention of selling. More often than not, the videos are stolen from the perpetrator’s phones when they’re unaware.

Gang rape videos for sale can be bought over the counter in several shops of Uttar Pradesh

Those videos end up in the hands of shopkeepers, who build up a huge stash of similar tapes and sell them on for between 10 and 200 rupees (12p to £2.49) to their customers who are able to save them on their phones, computers or tablets.

The clips, which include the sexual abuse of children, can be readily bought in shops with traders sending their clients the videos directly to their phones. However, the shopkeepers are very cautious about not selling the videos to any non-local person.

There are watchwords like ‘local films’ which these dark videos are euphemistically referred to. A customer comes and asks for ‘local films’ in order to buy these videos. Some say, “Pornography is passe. Real life crimes are the real thing.”

Some customers say they watch the videos because it gives “peace of mind”.

Nobody Bats an Eyelid

This dark trade is rampant across Uttar Pradesh but the state police seem to be oblivious to it.

Deputy Inspector General of Police for Saharanpur Range, J K Shahi denied any knowledge of the existence of such rape videos for sale.

“We are aware. We are taking necessary action. But it is difficult, as the sales are happening below the counter,” Ajay Sharma, a deputy inspector general of police in the city of Agra, said when enquired by Reuters.

The Repercussions

In India, crimes against women are reported every two minutes. More than 2.24 million sexual crimes were reported in the past decade.

In 2015 itself, there were more than 34,000 reported rape cases in the country. One is left shuddering when thinking of the actual statistics which include the unreported cases.

Victim shaming in cases of rape and other sexual crimes has become the order of the day. Often, when a woman attempts to lodge a complaint against the criminals, she is subject to ridicule and her morality is put to public scrutiny by the law enforcers themselves!

It is not unusual for an accused to roam about free on bail, thanks to political and/or familial influences.

Petitions have been started online to eliminate the rape videos for sale but they’re almost always limited to the virtual world. No real action is ever taken.

“This reflects a culture of rape in this country. Rapes are not just being committed but also glorified through [the] sale of such videos. It is shameful that such a market exists right under the nose of the governments and there are buyers of such videos,” said Brinda Karat, a Politbureau member of the Communist Party of India.

Uttar Pradesh happens to be one of the most violent states in India with respect to crimes against women. Delhi is going on to become the rape capital of the world.

In some of the videos, the woman can be seen begging the rapists to stop by telling them she will have to commit suicide to ‘save her honour’. 

Also read: Nirbhaya: The Girl Who Changed A Nation’s Legislation

In wake of the 2012 Delhi gang rape, several laws have been changed and strengthened throughout the country. However, one can easily see the pointlessness of it all when customers say that watching women and children get raped gives them peace of mind.


Image credits: Al Jazeera and Google

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