The Misery Machine - The Case of Jyoti Singh

Starting point is 00:00:00 Giote Singh was born into a lower middle-class family on May 10th, 1990 in Delhi, India. She was the eldest of three children and the only daughter of parents Asha Devi and Bajanath Singh. She had two brothers, Garav and Sarab. Gioti's mother was a homemaker while her father worked as a baggage handler at the airport, often working double shifts in making the equivalent of about $200 U.S. a month. The pair had risked it all to give their children. a shot at a better life. Originally from a small village in the Balea district within the state of Udhar Pradesh, the pair sold their plot of farmland in order to pay for their kids to go to school. That sacrifice

Starting point is 00:00:43 wasn't without hardship. According to reports, the family lived in a small home down an alley in a neighborhood known as the Mahavir Enclave Part 2 in southwest Delhi. The area has been described in some publications as poor and made up of slum-like dwellings. In a later interview, Badranath shared that as a child he dreamt of being a teacher, but sadly, like many children living in rural poverty, his family could not afford to send him off to college. Made a promise to himself that he would send his children to schools a way to fulfill his own desire for knowledge. When discussing GOD, he said, it never entered our hearts to ever discriminate. How could I be happy if my son is happy and my daughter isn't? It was impossible

Starting point is 00:01:26 to refuse a little girl who loved going to school. According to the New York, according to the New York, York Times, the father sometimes referred to his daughter as Beta, a Hindi word for son. It seemed like the family's sacrifice had paid off. GOD, now 22 years old, was a physiotherapy intern. During the evening, she worked at an IBM call center in order to help pay her way through college. Gioti was described as just an ordinary girl. She enjoyed shopping, mainly for shoes, and she loved going to the movies. December 16th, 2012 could have been like any other night in South It had been relatively milday in northern India, with temperatures ranging between 55 to 73 degrees Fahrenheit.

Starting point is 00:02:08 On that fateful Sunday, Jody had tea with her family and then set off to meet a friend, Avendra Pratat Pandy, who worked as a software engineer. After going for a walk, the Perry decided to watch the new Aung Lee film The Life of Pai at the PVR cinema, located within the Select City Walk shopping center in Siket District. Gioti really wanted to see it. Afterwards, the two hailed an auto-rickshaw or Tuk-tuk. The pair tried to get the driver to simply bring them to Gioti's house, but he refused. Instead, they had the driver bring them to the Monerka bus stop, about a seven-mile drive northwest.

Starting point is 00:02:47 There, they hoped to find another way home. The pair were headed for Dwarca, a neighborhood located another 23 miles west past the Indira Gandhi International Airport. But sadly, these two would never reach their final destination. At 9.30 p.m., Geode and Avindra boarded a small white Yadav travels bus after being told by a young passenger the vehicle was headed towards Duarka. They paid 10 rubies apiece and joined the other six men on board, which included the driver. These men described as working-class migrants were already drunk. All seemed well and good until Avindra, who no doubt had made this trip before, noticed the bus was deviating from its normal path.

Starting point is 00:03:30 The driver also locked the doors and switched off the interior lights. Avenger's gut told him that something was wrong, and he was right. When he spoke up, the six men, including the driver, began to harass the couple, asking what Geode and Avenger were doing out alone in the dark at such a late hour. Men exchanged words until eventually a physical altercation broke out on the still-moving vehicle. Being outnumbered five to two, Avendra was quickly overtaken by the mob. According to reports, the man was gagged and beaten, subsequently being knocked unconscious with a rusted L-shaped rod uses a wheel jack handle.

Starting point is 00:04:09 Vindra later recalled that during the melee, he pounded on the windows of the van in an attempt to alert passing motorists to the attack that was taking place. With Avendra incapacitated, the men set their sights on 22-year-old Gioti. The young woman was dragged by her hair to the back of the bus and beaten with the same rod that had been used to attack her friend. As the bus driver continued driving into the night, the men took turns violently as saying Gioti. At one point she fought back, biting her attackers. In response, the men inserted the L-shaped rod inside of Gioti, perforating her uterus and bowels, which caused her intestines to spill outside of her body. According to reports, one of the attackers later testified that he saw a rope-like object being pulled out of Gioti's body by another one of the men.

Starting point is 00:05:03 They were quite literally disemboweling her with their bare hands. The gruesome attack went on for the better part of an hour before both Gioti and Avenra were thrown from the bus, half-dressed, to die on the side of the road. The men later cleaned the bus in an attempt to destroy the evidence of their crime, but thankfully, they didn't do a great job. More on that in a moment. Barely conscious and losing hope, Vindra attempted to flag down a passing motorist, but no one would stop for them. Around 11 p.m., a highway patrol van located the pair and contacted the Delhi police. They were rushed to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, where Gioti was placed on a ventilator. It was discovered that she only had five percent.

Starting point is 00:05:47 of her intestines left inside her, and her whole body was littered with bruises and bite marks from her attackers. According to Avindra, he was lying naked in a pool of his own blood on the hospital floor, begging for staff to contact his father. It was the only phone number he could remember. Someone did contact his father, but they never stated which hospital Avendra was admitted to. This led to more chaos, with family members searching for the young man in every hospital across Delhi. Avinjara suffered from broken limbs and many superficial wounds, but thankfully he survived the attack. What Giotti did next earned her the moniker Nerbaya, meaning fearless. Conscious, she scribbled a note on a piece of paper and handed it to her doctors.

Starting point is 00:06:32 It said, I want to survive. Jody clung desperately to life so that she could tell the tale of what happened to her. According to the guardian, while she lay on her hospital bed, she told the police, and I quote, The conductor closed the doors of the bus. He closed the lights of the bus and came towards my friend and started abusing and beating him. They held his hands and held me and took me to the back of the bus. They tore my clothes and ripped me in turns. They hit me with an iron and bit me on my entire body with their teeth.

Starting point is 00:07:05 They took all belongings, my mobile phone, purse, credit card, debit card, watches, etc. Six people ripped me in turns for nearly one hour and a minute. moving bus. The driver of the bus kept changing so that he could also read me. As one could imagine, Gioti's extensive internal injuries required many surgeries to repair the damage done to her body. On December 19th, 2012, she went under the knife for the fifth time. This surgery removed much of what was left of her intestines, and doctors claimed she was in stable condition, but still critical. By Christmas, Giotie had a fever of 103-degree She also had internal bleeding due to the sepsis, which was said to be under control.

Starting point is 00:07:50 Despite this, and after all that she went through, Jody was awake and could communicate with medical staff. News of the attack quickly spread around Delhi, which led to public outrage. In response, then Indian Prime Minister, Manmo Han Singh vowed that Jody would receive the absolute best care that could be provided. It was decided that Jodi would be airlifted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital. in Singapore, which specializes in multi-organ transplants. This hospital, also known as Mount E, is a world-class hospital that practices 31 specialties,

Starting point is 00:08:25 not just multi-organ transplant. Much like many hospitals in Southeast Asia, it attracts international patients interested in medical tourism. It's such an outstanding facility that the royal family of Brunei has their own suite for personal use. So this would be the perfect place place for Geode to receive care, right? Well, many felt that the decision to move a patient who was still in the ICU was a political charade of sorts. Due to the fact that her body was so badly damaged and she was still intubated and on life support, Geode couldn't even be scheduled for organ transplants for weeks or even months. Her body needed time to heal and she was in no condition for the long plane ride across the Bay of Bengal. Despite very valid concerns for her well-being,

Starting point is 00:09:16 on December 26, 2012, 10 days after the attack, Jody was put on a plane anyways. As suspected, nearly six-hour flight from New Delhi to Singapore was not without complications. While in the air, Jody went into cardiac arrest and never regained consciousness, even after doctors created an arterial line to stabilize her. The three minutes that Giodi had been without a pulse or blood pressure was far too much for her body to handle. After her arrival at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, things continued to worsen for the young student. In December 28th, press conference was held in which doctors informed members of the media that in addition to the litany of injuries that we already discussed, Gioti was suffering from severe brain damage, pneumonia, an infection in her abdomen,

Starting point is 00:10:06 Despite a valiant fight for her life, sadly, Giotie Singh succumbed to her injuries the following day at 4.45 a.m. Word of Gioti's death brought great shock to her family, including her brothers who had hoped that their sister would make a miraculous recovery. According to one brother, the decision to transport Gioti to Mount Elizabeth Hospital came far too late. Ten days had passed since the attack, and she was missing almost all of her intestines. Now, people can still live with just four feet of their small intestine remaining. This requires supplemental fluids, IV nutrition, additional surgeries, and estoma, but it can be done. However, Jody was in a very bad shape.

Starting point is 00:10:50 So we'll sadly never know if earlier intervention could have helped saved her life or not. On December 30, 2012, while under high police security that came under scrutiny from India's Barataya Janata party, Jodhi's body, Jodhi's body was cremated. The BJP compared the added security measures to the emergency era, which was an almost two-year period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country due to internal disturbance. If you ask me, the BJP was being a bit over-dramatic, but I digress. Due to both peaceful and violent demonstrations that were popping up all over India, police were actually quick to act. Within 20,

Starting point is 00:11:35 24 hours of the crime, some of the suspects were already in custody. This was all thanks to Geode and Avindra. Their testimony assisted in creating composite sketches, and police were also able to track one of the suspects via one of their stolen cell phones. Based on their description of the bus, police were able to locate it in CCTV recordings of the highway. This was a bus that had been contracted by a private school in South Delhi. You heard that correctly.

Starting point is 00:12:03 The same bus used in the attack was used to transport children. Police quickly tracked down the driver, 30-year-old Rom Singh. Inside of the bus, police recovered two bloodstained metal rods, the same rods that had been used to cause the fatal injuries inflicted upon Gioti. In all, six men were arrested in connection to the attack. This included Ram Singh and his brother, 26-year-old Mukesh. The pair lived in a South Delhi slum known as Ravidas camp, along with the war. two of the other suspects. Also arrested were 20-year-old gym instructor Venae Sharma, 19-year-old

Starting point is 00:12:40 fruit seller, Paven Gupta, 17-year-old Muhammad Afros, who had only met the other suspects the day prior, and 28-year-old Akshay Tacher, an unemployed migrant worker. He was married and the father of a little boy at the time of the crime, which makes everything even more disgusting. After this attack, many of the suspects fled Delhi and were located in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. The juvenile was found at the Anan Vihar terminal in Delhi trying to make his escape. Allegedly, the attack on Geode and Evindra wasn't even the first crime these men committed that evening. After getting drunk together earlier that day, the men robbed 35-year-old Ramadit Singh, who worked as a carpenter. He too was lured under the bus as part of the men's attempt.

Starting point is 00:13:29 a little fun as they referred to it. Mind you, Rahm wasn't even allowed to pick up public passengers on his bus or even operate in the area because of the window tent. Just like he would hours later, the miner, Mohameda Frose, lured the man onto the bus on the promise that it was going to his end destination. Instead, the men beat him up, stole his cell phone, $1,500 rupees, and dumped him at the IIT flyover, which is an overpass in South Delhi. Now, this is where things get even more infuriating. The Carpenter actually reported the incident to three police officers, referred to him reports as Kalesh, Ashok, and Sandeep.

Starting point is 00:14:11 However, they refused to do anything about it because the actual scene of the crime wasn't within their jurisdiction. Had the officers actually done their jobs and made the call over to the correct police station, Judy might still be alive today. I want to stress that it wasn't even like these two circumstances. stations were far from each other. They are literally seven minutes apart. The adult men were charged with destruction of evidence, kidnapping, essay, attempted homicide, and homicide on January 3, 2013. All denied the charges against them. Some claim that they were

Starting point is 00:14:46 tortured by the police into making false confessions. On January 10th, their lawyers held a press conference in which they blamed the victims for their own attack, citing the fact that they were an unmarried couple using public transportation at night, something they felt they shouldn't have been doing. Attorney Manahar Lal Sharma specifically referred to Avenira as wholly responsible for the attack because, in his words, failed in his duty to protect the woman. He went on to state, quote, until today, I have not seen a single incident or example of a rape with a respected lady. even an underworld dawn would not like to touch a girl without respect. Attorney AP Singh also made the following statement,

Starting point is 00:15:32 which was featured in a documentary that we'll discuss a bit later. He said, quote, If my daughter or sister engaged in premarital activities and disgraced herself and allowed herself to lose face and character by doing such things, I would most certainly take this sort of sister or daughter to my farmhouse. and in front of my entire family, I would put petrol on her and set her a light. Thankfully, the courts had enough of the men in their defense team. On March 13th, they tacked on robbery for the incident with the carpenter to their laundry list of charges.

Starting point is 00:16:08 One of the five adult men never made it to trial. Driver, 30-year-old Rom Singh, who was described as a heavy drinker that often became violent, was found dead in his shared cell at 5.45 a.m. on March 11, 2013. He was found dangling from the ventilator shaft. It was unclear if he met his fate by his own hand or the hand of one of his three cellmates. This would be a reasonable assumption as his brother Mukesh Singh was assaulted by other inmates at the Thaihard jail and had to be placed in solitary for his own safety. Due to the fact that he was not yet 18 at the time of the attack, Mohammed Afroes was tried as

Starting point is 00:16:48 a juvenile. August 31st, 2013, he was convicted of Essendez. and homicide. He was sentenced to three years in a reform facility with eight months time served. After hearing the verdict, one of Jehote's younger brothers tried to attack him in the courtroom. While in prison, he was trained in cooking and tailoring as part of his rehabilitation program. It was released on December 20, 2015. On his release, he was provided 10,000 rupees from the government's Department of Women and Children as a one-time grant to open up a tailoring shop. They also provided him with a sewing machine.

Starting point is 00:17:24 However, it's been reported that instead of doing any of this, he went on to work as a cook. Thankfully, his family never forgave him for his crimes and has since disowned him. The four surviving adult men were fast-tracked through trial. The defense relied heavily on both victim and witness statements and forensic evidence such as fingerprints, DNA, and dental models of the men's teeth. They arrested their case on July 8, 2013. All four men were found guilty on all counts on September 10th of the same year. Three days later, they were sentenced to death by hanging.

Starting point is 00:17:59 This no doubt satisfied Giodi's father, who stated, and I quote, We will get complete closure only if all the accused are wiped off from the face of the earth. While awaiting his fate at the end of a rope, Mukesh Singh made disgusting comments about Gioti from death row. blaming the young student for her own attack. He said, He said, He has a half from the

Starting point is 00:18:23 two hands of the two hands. It's a good if a little girl or not to know it would be, it's a new woman. The other more than that

Starting point is 00:18:33 for the right for the right. He went on to state that, quote, boy and girl are not equal. Housework and housekeeping is for girls. Not roaming in discos and bars at night doing wrong things,

Starting point is 00:18:46 wearing wrong clothes. About 20% of girls are good, but he didn't stop there. He just couldn't keep his fucking mouth shut. He continued, quote, when being raped, she shouldn't fight back. She should just be silent and allow the rape. Then they'd have dropped her off after doing her and only hit the boy. For the next seven years, the four men filed appeal after appeal and even pled for mercy to the president of India. It's all very long and drawn out, so we'll spare you the details.

Starting point is 00:19:17 but thankfully, everything was rejected. Between January 17th and February 17th of 2020, four death warrants were issued. Finally, at 5.30 a.m. on March 20th, 2020, Ukesh Singh, Ivan Gupta, Nais Sharma, Naxhah Thacher, were blindfolded and put to death by hanging at the Thaihard jail in New Delhi. Their gallows have been specifically designed to hang four people at once. They were pronounced dead a half-hour long. later. In accordance to jail policy, the men were offered a last meal and new clothes prior to their execution, which they refused. Allegedly, Venei Sharma began pleading with the guards for mercy as he

Starting point is 00:19:59 was being led to his death. It's been reported that prior to their deaths, Mukesh Singh requested to donate his organs, and Venei Sharma donated all of the paintings that he made while in custody to the jail superintendent. In the wake of Gioti's death, both peaceful and violent protests broke out all over India, including outside of the home of the president. Demonstrators were beaten with batons, shot with water cannons, and gasped with tear gas shells. Some were arrested, including yoga guru Baba Ramdev and former Army Chief General Vijay Kumar Singh. To discourage assembly around Reisina Hill, which is similar to our Capitol Hill, police block roads and close nine metro stations. This not only affected the demonstrators, but thousands of commuters that rely on public

Starting point is 00:20:45 transportation to get around the city into their jobs. The protests in India started a wave of protests all over South Asia, including demonstrations in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, their purpose to demand reform and legislation towards violence against women. According to the South Asia Analysis Group, New Delhi, where Gioti was attacked and ultimately killed, has the highest number of instances of essay in any major city in India. On average, women in New Delhi experience an attack once every 18 hours. According to reports, only one of the 706 SA cases reported in Delhi in 2012 saw a successful conviction. That was Giodi's case.

Starting point is 00:21:34 Furthermore, leading up to Gioti's attack, 564 calls for both harassment and S.A. were reported to the police. And guess how many were followed up on? Four. Geode wasn't the first woman who lost her life because crimes against women in India weren't taking seriously, and she certainly wasn't the last. There have been many Geode since then. Why? Because no one in power seems to actually care, at least not until it costs the money. If you'd like an example, look no further than former finance minister Aaron Jatley. After female tourism in India dropped 35% following Geode's death, he said, quote, one small incident of rape in Delhi advertised world over is enough to cost us billions of

Starting point is 00:22:24 dollars in terms of lower tourism. Gioti's story has been depicted in various forms of media, including the BBC documentary film India's daughter. The film was due to be aired on International Women's Day. However, Indian courts banned the broadcast due the interview of Mukesh Singh blaming his victim. The BBC aired the documentary outside of India on March 4th, 2015, where it was subsequently uploaded to YouTube by a viewer.

Starting point is 00:22:50 From there, it went viral making its way to India anyway. The following day, the Indian government demanded that YouTube blocked the video in India. Sadly, it was removed anyway after the BBC filed a copyright violation against the channel that uploaded it. It is still available to rent or buy on the platform as of the date of this recording. The film also garnered some other controversy after the Navmarat Times claimed that Mukesh Singh was paid $40,000 rupees for his interview. Allegedly, he'd asked for five times that amount, but eventually the negotiated sum was paid

Starting point is 00:23:24 out to his family. Filmmakers denied that they paid anything for this interview, but this was not the only allegation of payments being made to participants for the documentary. Allegedly, Avindra, the male victim in our story, charges money for interviews and was paid to appear in the documentary. It's been reported that he charges up to $70,000 rupees for his interviews, which, according to our research, has angered many people in India. He went on to promote the film, Tara, The Journey of Love and Passion, which he claimed was about women's rights. Avendra, who is currently living in Bangalore, also claimed that the 2019 Netflix series Delhi Crime, which was based on the attack he survived, was not accurate.

Starting point is 00:24:03 Jodi's death did make some small changes to how essay and homicides are handled in India. The government created six fast-track courts that specifically handled the prosecution of these types of cases. Essay committed by gangs now have a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison. The Juvenile Justice Act also saw revision. As of December 22, 2015, those accused of heinous crimes above the age of 16 will be treated as an adult. Had this been in place in 2012, they would have had to design a gallows for four. five instead of four. The government also promised changes to its Criminal Law Amendment Act, which expanded the definition of SA and added other offenses that women in South Asia suffer from

Starting point is 00:24:50 at unacceptable rates, including harassment, voyeurism, stalking, and acid attack. However, it's been reported that women in India still feel unsafe on the streets. According to reports, public officials still victim blame women, claiming that they are in dividing attacks by how they are dressed. This has led some women to not wear Western-style clothing in public out of fear that they'll be attacked. Instead of addressing the root cause of the issue, the Indian government has advised women to avoid responding to cat-calling and teasing, to wear modest clothing, and to avoid direct eye contact with men. They've even suggested for women to not go out at night and to avoid public transportation. Really?

Starting point is 00:25:38 It feels like they just want 691 million women to just shut up and stay home. In December of 2014, Giote's father claimed that the government failed to make good on their promises, and he regretted the fact that he had not been able to bring justice for his daughter and other women like her. As we mentioned previously, Giotti Singh went on to be known as Nurbaya, meaning fearless. This wasn't just because she fought her attackers and lived long enough to provide some of the test. testimony that led to their capture, but also because Indian law prohibits the press from naming victims of SA. Not that her parents had any problem with ultimately naming their daughter, despite the fact that they too received harsh criticism and mistreatment in the wake of Geode's death.

Starting point is 00:26:27 In addition to Norbaia, Geode went on to be known as Jagruti, meaning awareness, Ammonaut, meaning treasure, demeanor, meaning lightning, and finally, Delhi Braveheart. In death, Gioti Singh has become a symbol of women's resistance around the world. In 2013, she was awarded an International Woman of Courage Award by the U.S. State Department. When discussing Gioti, her father shared the following. He said, quote, My wife and I brought up our children with the sole intention of making them good citizens. I can proudly say that we have achieved that.

Starting point is 00:27:07 Our daughter has shown society its true face. She has changed the lives of many young girls. She remains an inspiration even after death. She fought back those devils. We are proud of our daughter.

The Misery Machine - The Case of Jyoti Singh

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.