A 19-year-old dalit woman, who was raped by four men in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district, succumbed to her wounds and passed away on Tuesday. The woman had gone to the fields with her mother on September 14 and went missing soon after. The teenager was later found brutally injured, with her tongue having a serious cut as she bit it while the accused attempted to strangulate her. In a statement to the magistrate, the victim had said that the men had gangraped her, and when she resisted their attempts, they tried to strangulate her, leading to the cut in the tongue.
She was initially admitted to a district hospital, then shifted to Aligarh hospital, and then moved to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi before being taken to AIIMS.
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekar Azad on Sunday night evaded police to reach JNMC to express "solidarity". Azad claimed that the brutal attack represents the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. "Policemen who have been negligent in this case should be duly punished and the woman's family members should be immediately provided security as they are feeling insecure and should be shifted to a safe spot," he said. He had also demanded financial assistance of Rs one crore for the woman's family.
Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati said on Sunday that the incident was "extremely shameful and condemnable".
