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Amidst tribute videos, sand art and a play based on the Nirbhaya gangrape, comes a rather shameful act by Mumbai-based photographer Raj Shetye. In trying to supposedly showcase the issue of women’s safety through a fashion shoot, Shetye has made a mockery of the gangrape and physical assault in a bus that shocked the nation. The pictures, titled The Wrong Turn, are clearly fashion-based and not depicting the gangrape as a heinous act or crime.
The Delhi gangrape incident that happened on December 16, 2012, still sends shivers down the spine of Indians. A 23-year-old physiotherapy student was gangraped in a moving bus and severe injuries were inflicted upon her intestines with a rod. Her male friend was also beaten up and both were thrown on the road naked, shivering and injured in the Delhi winter. The girl gave a statement that nailed the accused, but succumbed to her injuries in a hospital in Singapore, sparking a nationwide mini-revolution. She was named Nirbhaya by the media.
Nirbhaya is the nation’s child and seeing her agony captured in a fashion photoshoot created rage on Twitter with people condemning the act.
Shetye apologised on social media saying they were his personal pictures and not a commercial shoot. He has also removed the pictures from all websites. He reportedly told BuzzFeed when the pictures were published, “The aim is to create art that will gather some reaction in society. On a personal level, too, I got many reactions. It makes me feel satisfied about my work – at least the work I did is so impactful that I’m able to shed some light on this. I don’t feel happy, but it makes me feel satisfied.”
It seems Shetye sees it as a good publicity stunt for himself, although he says that “the shoot was meant to draw attention to the subject” of women’s safety. We wonder what Nirbhaya’s parents would be going through each time their daughter’s story comes up in some way or the other. Sad times, these!
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