Dalit girl gangraped, killed; body found naked on railway tracks

The body of a 17-year-old Dalit girl, who had allegedly been gangraped and murdered, was found on June 24 in Telangana’s Kothagudem, according to sources.

The girl’s body had reportedly been found on railway tracks in the area, naked and covered in bruises. Reports on social media said locals had claimed that the girl’s ex-boyfriend’s friends had sexually assaulted and killed her.

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However, on the other hand, a few others claimed that the girl had been involved with a guy in their neighbourhood, and that her parents had caught them speaking one day. The families of the boy and girl had gotten involved in an altercation, and the girl had allegedly gone missing on June 22 after this episode.

Reports on social media further claimed that the parents had filed a complaint with the police after she went missing, but did not receive an adequate response from the police officers.

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Netizens also went on to say the police had steadily denied any gangrape allegations, and that the boy’s “political background” had been the reason behind their denial. The reports on social media mentioned that the girl’s family had sought further investigation following the lack of response from the police.

People have demanded justice for the victim, and have also hit out that this issue was not prioritised as much as a few other rape incidents since the girl involved was a Dalit.