A woman was raped on a busy public street in broad daylight in west India on Sunday as several bystanders filmed the attack and no one stepped in to help.
The woman, reportedly in her late 20s, had been resting under a tree by a footpath in the city of Visakhapatnam, in Andhra Pradesh, on the Bay of Bengal.
She was then attacked and raped by a 23-year-old cleaner, in full view of passersby at around 2.30pm.
Shocking: The unnamed woman was attacked in broad daylight in the city of Visakhapatnam, east India, but instead of helping, witnesses began filming the rape
The woman had reportedly left her family home on the outskirts of the city two days earlier after a fight with her husband.
The alleged rapist, Ganji Siva attacked her with no provocation and brutally raped her by the side of the road.
‘Apparently, she was very weak as she had not eaten for several hours and was sleeping on the footpath under the shadow of a tree., when Siva, in an inebriated condition assaulted her sexually,’ Visakhapatnam IV town police sub-inspector K Suresh told Hindustan Times.
‘Passers-by did not bother to stop him even as the woman was too weak to even scream.’
Several people started filming the attack, and one of the videos, filmed by a rickshaw driver from across the street, was brought to police.
Horrifying: Video shows several people casually walking by as the woman is being raped
The attack took place in the city of Visakhapatnam, in Andhra Pradesh, on the Bay of Bengal
It allegedly shows several people walking past in a casual manner, while the assault goes on in the background.
By the time police arrived, the assailant had already left the scene, but thanks to the video and eyewitness accounts, Siva was soon identified and arrested.
He has been detained awaiting trial and official charges.
Since the video first appeared on social media, many have responded with outrage that no one helped the vivtim.
A person calling themselves Bhaskar Rao tweeted: ‘Broad Daylight rape in Vizag on footpath, no one came ahead to help women. It’s disgusting. We all hve become merciless,no fight for justice.’ [sic]
Arunoday Mukharji added ‘Is this for real? A woman raped on a footpath in #Vizag while people walk past without intervening. Has it come down to this? Speechless.’