A 16-year-old girl was brutally stabbed to death in a crowded public alleyway in India’s capital, reigniting concerns about the safety of women in the country and the perpetration of violence by men.
Security camera footage capturing the incident, which lasted for over a minute, shows multiple individuals walking in close proximity as the attacker repeatedly strikes the victim. Only one man is seen attempting to intervene, briefly trying to pull the attacker away before quickly retreating, CNN reported.
Indian police subsequently announced the arrest of a suspect named Sahil in connection with the murder. Sahil was apprehended in Bulandshahr, a neighboring city in Uttar Pradesh state, according to Deputy Police Commissioner Ravi Kumar Singh.
Delhi’s Special Commissioner of Police, Deependra Pathak, stated to Indian news channel Times Now that the initial investigation indicated a potential “crime of passion.”
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“I saw my daughter lying on the ground, face down,” the victim’s father, Janak Raj, said in an interview with CNN. “Her organs were protruding, and her head was severely injured. She lay there lifeless. There was no point in taking her to the hospital.”
“It angers me to know that no one helped my daughter,” he added. “If they had helped her, she would have been alive today. I also heard that the bystanders were busy filming videos of the incident. Even if they had screamed, it would have helped my daughter.”
In a widely circulated video, the accused can be seen ruthlessly stabbing the victim multiple times in plain sight of the public. During the incident, a male attempts to disarm Sahil, but he manages to break free and continues his assault on the girl. The other man then fled the scene.
WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO.
As the brutal attack persisted, several individuals walked past without offering assistance to the victim, although some paused to observe the situation.
Sahil proceeded to kick Sakshi’s lifeless body numerous times before grabbing a stone slab to repeatedly strike her head. After briefly leaving the scene, he returned to strike her with further blows with the slab and added additional kicks before leaving.
