27-yr-old UP rape survivor sets herself, son on fire as cops refuse to act
Shahjahanpur: After being allegedly denied by the Uttar Pradesh police to register a case of gangrape against three men, a 27-year-old survivor set herself and her 12-year-old son on fire on Thursday. The gangrape survivor was admitted to a hospital at Shahjahanpur with 95 per cent burns and she died on Friday morning.
The woman’s son, who suffered about 15 per cent burns, is stable.
The woman, in a 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.
The woman's husband, Ramvir, told the police that he was not at home when she set herself ablaze.
The couple had allegedly been trying to register a case of rape against three men from the village at the local police station for over a month. The police had refused to file a First Information Report (FIR), the husband alleged. The husband alleged that the police have an understanding with the accused adding that they were pressurised by cops to take money from the accused and arrive at a compromise.
"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," NDTV quoted Shivasimpi Chanappa, the police chief of Shahjahanpur, saying.
The police chief also said that the police officer in charge of the station and two sub-inspectors have been charged because they knew about the case but did not act.
According to reports, the woman was first gangraped by three men from the same village about six months ago. The rapists threatened the woman to kill her child if she told anyone. The woman finally told her husband about a month ago after which the couple went to the police, who refused to register the case.
The woman was allegedly attacked and raped again on August 18 and the police denied registering the case even then.
