The News Minute | March 25, 2015 | 4:15 pm IST
Months after the videos first started making rounds, one of the men suspected to be in a brutal gang rape video has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation. (CBI).
The CBI which is currently probing controversial rape videos shared on WhatsApp, has arrested a man who is reportedly seen in one of the videos handed over for investigation to the agency by the Supreme Court.
The CBI arrested a property dealer from Bhubaneswar identified as Subrat Sahu and has registered eight FIRs and a preliminary enquiry into the videos.
The videos came to light when activist Sunitha Krishnan had shared two of them on social media as she began a #ShameTheRapist Campaign. Soon after, the videos were taken off YouTube, as it violated its terms of service. The edited videos had blurred the faces of the women. It had also shown the alleged rapists smiling into the cameras.
The Supreme Court later, ordered the CBI to look into the videos and take the necessary action.
Speaking to The News Minute, Sunitha Krishnan said "The campaign is running its course and the arrest is just a baby step. The CBI has also announced 1 lakh for anyone who can identify the perpetrators. As far as I have seen, there is a good sense in the public and many people have supported the campaign."
Sunitha is also the chief functionary and co-founder of Prajwala - a non-governmental organization that rescues, rehabilitates and reintegrates sex-trafficked victims into society.
"We are trying to create as much awareness as we can about the issue and we are coordinating and helping the CBI out wherever possible. People have approached me with information and wish to remain anonymous and we have also taken that into consideration," Sunitha adds.
The NGO provided the videos in a pen drive along with the letter to the Chief Justice of India. One video, which is 4.5 minutes long, shows a man raping a girl while another man is filming the heinous act.
The other video, spanning 8.5 minutes, relates to gangrape of a girl by five culprits who have been shown smiling, cracking jokes, making a video and taking photos while they went about sexually assaulting the victim, it said.
A third video, from which one person has been identified and arrested, was never made public.
"The culprits are currently being booked only under the IT Act and a few other cases, which is why we are trying to also track down the victims. If we find them, I plan to personally meet them and talk to them about standing up in court so the people can be punished," says Sunitha.
Sunitha also says that the main aim behind the campaign is to shame the offenders and not the victim and ensure that the offenders do not flaunt their dastardly act.