A newly married woman is brutally raped by her husband on the wedding night, and she succumbed to her injuries and died one week later. Reportedly, the woman’s husband took sex enhancement pills before inflicting such harm upon her that she suffered several injuries.
The Incident – Marital Rape and Murder
The incident took place in Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh.
On Feb 3rd, on the wedding night, the woman’s husband, an engineer by profession, took sex enhancement pills and inflicted such harm on his wife that she sustained many injuries and her health started to decline.
She was rushed to the hospital after her health deteriorated in Kanpur district on Feb 7th, where the doctor described that injuries were so brutal that they amounted to gang rape.
She succumbed to the injuries and passed away on Feb 10th.
Complaint against accused
In a written complaint to Superintendent of Police, Deeksha Sharma, the woman’s relatives alleged the accused (her husband) forced her into an unnatural physical relationship after taking sex enhancement pills. They demanded strict action against the husband and his family.
Hamirpur police station denied receiving any such complaint. “No complaint has been received in this regard in Kotwali Nagar police station. On receipt of the complaint, the investigation will be done, and necessary legal action will be taken,” the cop from the police station said.
As per reports, the accused has locked his house and fled to the village with his family. 
What is Marital Rape?
Sexual violence within marriage is common and manifests in many forms including marital rape. Rape, reproductive coercion, inserting objects in the vagina or anus, and withholding sexual pleasure are forms of violence women experience even in marriage.
As per NHFS (National Family Health Surveys), “use of physical force by the husband to have sexual intercourse even when the wife did not want to” and “forcing a woman to perform sexual acts she did not want to”, that is sexual activity without consent is sexual violence.
Exception 2 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code states, “Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife …is not rape.” As the law does not recognize marital rape as a crime, the cases of this violence do not get registered and get normalized.
On Feb 7th, Uttarakhand government passed a Uniform Civil Code Bill which covered live-in relationship and asked couple to register it. So, Government does have the time to think about your personal choices and relationships but unfortunately, couldn’t find time to criminalize Marital rape.
ALSO READ : Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code Bill
