Shahjahanpur: UP police drives gangrape survivor to suicide, dies

After being allegedly refused by the Uttar Pradesh police to register a case of gangrape, 27-year-old woman died in a hospital at Shahjahanpur on Friday morning. The rape survivor had set herself and her 12-year-old son on fire on Thursday and was admitted in the hospital with 95 percent burns. However, her son, who suffered 15 percent burns is stable.

The woman, in her dying declaration, has alleged that the police refused to register her gangrape complaint. She also said that the same men returned on August 18 and gangraped her again. Alleging the police did not file the First Information Report against the three villagers for over a month, husband of the victim alleged that police have an understanding with the accused. He also alleged that police had told them to settle the matter by taking the money from the accused.

The husband also stated to the police that he was not at home when the woman set herself on fire.

Acting on the incident after the woman died, the police chief of Shahjahanpur Shivasimpi Chanappa said, as reported by NDTV, “A government official managed to record her dying declaration. The husband of the woman has filed an FIR now and one person has been named. That person has been arrested by us. We are taking more steps based on the dying declaration.” He also informed that the police officer in charge of the station and two sub-inspectors have been charged as they knew about the case but did not act.

According to the reports, the woman was first raped by three villagers six-months ago for the same village, she resides in. Though she remained quiet — after being threatened to be killed by the goons not to reveal the matter to anyone — she told her husband about it a month ago and they went to police to register the FIR but were refused. Again she was raped on August 18 and was refused again. After which she set herself on fire.

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