A brutal gang rape in India revives painful memories of 2012 Delhi assault

Thirteen years after the gang rape of an Indian woman on a bus in the capital Delhi made global headlines, a new case that comes close in brutality inflicted on a woman has been reported from the northern state of Bihar. Campaigners say her story is also one of apathy from the police and medical authorities that women who face sexual assault, especially in small towns and villages, routinely encounter in India. Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find distressing. Indian law prohibits naming victims of sexual assault so we are going to call the survivor Soma (not her real name). The 28-year-old mother of four young children told BBC Hindi that she was attacked in her own home and gang-raped by a group of men who allegedly inserted objects into her vagina. The incident took place on the night of 11 June in a village in Begusarai - a district that is officially recognised as one of India's most socially and economically backward. The case gained national attention after hospital officials confirmed she was assaulted with objects, which doctors removed. She also brought a bullet casing, which she said was one of the items used. Giving details of the horrific assault, Soma said she was in the toilet outside her one-room home at night when five men barged in. The toilet does not have a door, only a curtain hangs over it to provide some privacy. "They stripped me, gagged me, and tied my hands. …