Dalit Gangrape Survivor From Hathras Passes Away In New Delhi

The Dalit gangrape survivor from Hathras in Uttar Pradesh died on 29 September. The 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly gangraped by four men on 14 September. She had gone to the fields with her mother and disappeared. She was later found tortured and brutally injured.

The accused had reportedly tried to strangulate her to death, while she tried to resist the attempt. She also had a deep cut on her tongue after biting on it. She had managed to give her statement to the police days after the incident and stated that she had been raped by four upper-caste men from Hathras.

Also Read: No Country For Women. Bihar gang rape survivor sent to jail for ‘misbehaviour’ 

Hathras gangrape case

The woman was admitted at Safdarjung hospital yesterday for better healthcare facilities. Previously she was being treated in Aligarh's JN Medical College hospital and was in critical condition. She was shifted to AIIMS on Monday after her condition showed no signs of improvement. When her condition further deteriorated, she was put on a ventilator. Reportedly, she was left paralysed with severe spinal cord injury.

On the 27 September, Hathras Superintendent of Police Vikrant Vir said that the four accused named in the gangrape case had been arrested. The names of the accused, as identified by the woman, are Sandip, Ramu, Lavkush and Ravi.

Hathras Additional Superintendent of Police Prakash Kumar told reporters that originally the accused were charged under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC but later charged under section 376 D (gangrape), murder and the SC/ST Act. The Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) was deployed at the house of the woman.

The legal process of trying the case in a fast track court had been initiated. Members of the Dalit woman’s family have accused the police of negligence and failure to act promptly.

Also Read: 3-Year-Old Girl Raped And Murdered In Lakhimpur, UP: Report

Over the past few months, the number of rape cases in Uttar Pradesh has been alarmingly high. The annual report of the National Crime Bureau Data (NCRB) shows a rape case is registered with the UP police every two hours and the state sees a crime against a child every 90 minutes. As per the data available for 2018, 144 girls below the age of eighteen were reportedly raped in 2018 against 139 in 2017.