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Regular-article-logo Friday, 10 May 2024

Another Dalit rape victim in UP dies

Police arrest accused duo, say the woman was drugged

Our Bureau, Agencies Balrampur Published 01.10.20, 10:55 AM
"She died when we were on our way to Lucknow, near Balrampur town," said the woman's mother.

"She died when we were on our way to Lucknow, near Balrampur town," said the woman's mother. Representational image from Shutterstock

A 22-year-old Dalit woman died after being allegedly raped by two men in UP's Balrampur district, an incident which comes amid nationwide outrage over the Hathras gang-rape case.

The woman's mother said she was abducted in the morning while on way to secure a college admission, as reported by ndtv.com. When she failed to return in time, the family launched a search for the woman.

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The family says she returned around 7 pm, and that the assailants had allegedly put her on an e-rickshaw and sent her home, sources said.

"The men had injected her with some substance due to which she lost consciousness. Then they raped her... They broke her legs, they broke her back. A rickshaw-wallah brought her home. They was thrown in front of our house. My child could barely stand or speak," the woman's mother said, weeping.

"Somehow, crying, my daughter said, 'Save me, I do not want to die'," the mother said.

She added that soon after her return, her daughter complained of a burning pain in her stomach.

"The doctor at the local hospital said her condition is serious and advised that she be taken to Lucknow. But she died when we were near Balrampur town," she added.

The girl looked dazed and had an intravascular cannula, medically known as Vigo and used for administering injection or other fluids in the body, inserted in her hands, said Balrampur Superintendent of Police Dev Ranjan Verma.

About the reports that the victim's legs and back were broken, he said, "It was not confirmed in the post-mortem. We contradict this news."

The victim was cremated on Wednesday after the post-mortem in the presence of her family members, the police said.

The district magistrate and the SP, along with the mahant of the Devipatan temple, Mithilesh Nath Yogi, visited the victim's house on Thursday morning, met the family members and condoled her death.

"The family members were assured that the accused will be given a strict punishment in accordance with law. A letter sanctioning a financial assistance of Rs 6,18,450 was handed over to them by the mahant. The amount will be sent to the victim's mother bank account by the afternoon," a statement issued here said.

The mother has demanded a compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a government job for her son.

"My daughter wanted to become a lawyer but she was killed. The same fate should await the culprits. We want justice. My son should be given a government job and we should get at least Rs 25 lakh as compensation," she said.

The "jungle raj" that has spread in Uttar Pradesh has no limits and the time for accountability is now, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, adding that a gruesome incident like Hathras had taken place in Balrampur too.

"Law and order is not run by marketing and speeches. This is time for accountability of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. The public wants accountability," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

Alleging that "atrocities" on women and the government's brazenness is continuing, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, "Did not give respect when alive and also snatched the dignity in death." His tweet, also in Hindi, referenced the Hathras victim's family being allegedly denied the right to properly perform her last rites.

When the matter was reported to the police from the hospital, the parents alleged that their daughter was gang-raped, SP Verma added.

Acting on the parent's complaint, police identified the accused as Shahid and Sahil and arrested them, the SP said.

Reacting to the incident, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav said, "After Hathras, now a daughter was harassed and gang-raped in Balrampur. The victim died in serious condition. Condolences!"

"The BJP government should commit no laxity in this case as was done in Hathras and arrest the accused immediately," he added with a hashtag #Balrampur... #NoMoreBJP" on his Twitter handle.

The Balrampur case comes at a time when there is a widespread outrage over the gang-rape of a Dalit woman in Hathras.

A 19-year-old Dalit was allegedly sexually assaulted by four upper caste men on September 14 and referred on Monday to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi with spinal injuries, paralysis and cuts in her tongue. She died around 3 am on Tuesday.

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