Dalit girl gang-raped in UP’s Hathras dies in Delhi hospital

A 19-year-old Dalit girl who was gang-raped by four upper caste men in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district died on Tuesday (September 29), almost two weeks after the incident.

The girl who sustained injuries including a deep cut on her tongue and multiple fractures was being treated at hospital in UP’s Aligarh. She was shifted to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on Monday after her condition worsened.

While all the four accused in the case have been arrested, the girl’s family has accused Uttar Pradesh police of not taking their complaint initially, and only acting when there was pressure from public and media.

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The girl, was kidnapped and raped allegedly by the four men on September 14 in her village in Hathras when she was cutting grass with her mother and brother.

According to NDTV, the brother had left the fields early and the mother-daughter duo was cutting the grass when the attackers threw the girl’s dupatta around her neck and dragged her into a bajra field. Her mother, who was at a distance, didn’t notice her absence at first, but went looking for her when she found the girl missing.

“My sister was found unconscious. They had raped her. The police did not help us initially; they did not take quick action. They acted only after four-five days,” the girl’s brother told NDTV.

The accused allegedly had tried to strangulate the girl and the latter in an attempt to resist it had bitten her tongue.

The accused have been booked under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC and later charged with gang-rape under Section 376D.

The Uttar Pradesh police, however, refuted the allegations levelled by the girl’s family.

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“This is a very unfortunate incident but we have been pro-active in making arrests and helping the family in whatever manner possible. I will personally ensure swift investigation and that these men are tried in a fast track court,” Hathras police chief Vikrant Vir had told NDTV on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the station house officer (SHO) of Chandpa police station in Hathras district, under whose jurisdiction the incident occurred, was recently transferred to the district police lines for his “failure to promptly act” in the case.