Rape videos being sold in India

Shops in the northern state of India are reportedly selling videos of women, being raped, to their customers. The videos 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.

According to a report by Al Jazeera; the faces of the women were visible in the films, their voices were clear and the attacks on them were brutal.

Shahnawaz, a resident of Incholi village in India, revealed that he had bought some of the rape videos, he even showed it to Al Jazeera.   The man, who refused to use his real name as at the time of the transaction, said that the videos were not generally made with the intention of being sold on the open market.

"They make it to blackmail the victims [of rape], so that they don't go and file a complaint in the nearest police station," Shawnawaz explained. Sometimes, the videos are stolen from the perpetrator's phone when he takes his device to a shop for repairs. The stolen footage is then sold to anyone who asks for it,” he said.

Most of the perpetrators are careful to sell the videos only to locals who request for them, and generally deny any knowledge of them.

LIB