UP: Rape survivor chased, ‘hacked to death’ by accused, brother in front of crowd

A young woman who refused to withdraw a rape case was hacked to death in front of dazed witnesses in Uttar Pradesh by two brothers who had been released on bail only days earlier.

The two men, including one who was accused of raping the victim, are on the run after committing the gory murder in Kaushambi district on Tuesday, media reports said.

Media reports quoted police as saying that Ashok and Pawan Nishad had been released on bail recently.

The police said the woman was butchered with an axe on a main road as scared residents of Dherha village watched helplessly.

She had accused Pawan Nishad of raping her three years ago when she was a minor.

Pawan was said to have been harassing the woman since then to get her to drop the case filed against him.

Brother Ashok Nishad is an accused in a separate murder case and was freed on bail only two days earlier.

The two allegedly plotted to confront the woman's family and force them to close the case.

But as the young woman refused to back down, the two men killed her when she was returning from grazing her family's cattle, the police said.

The Congress alleged that “brutes in Uttar Pradesh are so fearless they have no fear of law... no respect”.

The horrific killing came two months after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath declared 'Yamraj’ (Hindu god of death)' would exact retribution against anyone who harassed or harmed women.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, Uttar Pradesh recorded more than 56,000 cases of crimes against women in 2021 – the most among all states.