(Trigger warning: Mentions of rape and sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.)
Over ten days after two men gang-raped a minor Dalit girl and set her on fire in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit, the 16-year-old succumbed to her burn injuries in the wee hours of Monday, 19 September.
She was being treated King George's Medical University hospital in Lucknow.
The two accused, Rajveer (19) and Tarachand alias Tarun Kumar (25), were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the Schedule Castes/Schedule Tribes Act, and sent to jail, said Superintendent of Police Dinesh Kumar Prabhu.
What Had Happened?
One out of the two raped the 16-year-old girl, and then poured diesel on her to set her afire.
Meanwhile, the victim's father said that his daughter was alone at home when the incident occurred.
"I was not at home, nor was my wife. Some people tried to rape my daughter and set her on fire," he said.
The incident took place in the Madhotanda area of the district on 7 September. However, it came to light when a video, wherein the victim is narrating her ordeal, went viral on Saturday.
Notably, only two years ago, four upper-caste men in Hathras had brutally raped a 19-year-old Dalit woman on 14 September 2020. She died on 29 September at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital during treatment.
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