16-year-old Dalit girl gang-raped, set on fire in UP’s Pilibhit dies

Pilibhit, Sep 19: A Dalit girl who was allegedly gang-raped and set ablaze by two men in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit district on September 7 succumbed to her injuries on Monday.

The victim had been battling for her life at a hospital in Lucknow for the past 12 days.

The two men as Rajveer, 19, and Tarachand alias Tarun Kumar, 25, were arrested and sent to jail.

After allegedly gang-raping the 16-year-old girl, they poured diesel on her and set her on fire in a bid to kill her in Madhav Tanda area on September 7. She was rushed to hospital with severe burn injuries.

The matter, however, came to light when a video, wherein the victim is narrating her ordeal, went viral three days later on Saturday.

In his police complaint, the minor's father alleged that the accused, who belong to the same village, took his daughter to a field and raped her, Station House Officer (Jahanabad) Prabhas Chandra said.

Upon realising in the morning that the girl was missing, her family members began searching and found her in the field. After gaining consciousness, she told her parents about the incident, according to the complaint.
The accused allegedly threatened to kill the girl if she approached the police, her father claimed.

A case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Schedule Castes/Schedule Tribes Act.