24-yr-old rape victim commits suicide in UP

MUZAFFARNAGAR: A 24-year-old woman, whose father has accused her uncle of raping her in 2015, allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling of her house in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district on Saturday, a police officer said on Sunday.

The officer, assistant police superintendent Satpal Ancil, said that an abetment to suicide case was registered against the uncle and aunt of the woman under Indian Penal Code’s section 306 after their names were found written on her hand. He added that the case was registered on the complaint of the woman’s father, who has accused the uncle of raping her and the aunt of abetting the assault in 2015.

The officer said that they will lodge a rape case only after investigating the matter further.

Circle officer (Sadar) Kuldeep Kumar said that the woman’s father claimed that the uncle allegedly raped the woman when she was visiting him in Meerut in 2015. “Her father accused her maternal uncle of raping her and claimed that her aunt was also involved in [abetting] the incident,” said Kumar.

He added that the alleged rape was not reported to police as a compromise was worked out within the family.

The woman’s family said that they had gone to their field to fetch fodder when the woman allegedly committed suicide on Saturday. “They said that they returned to find her hanging from the ceiling and reported the matter to the police,” said Kumar.

Senior police superintendent Abhishek Yadav said that the woman’s father had also lodged a case of rape against a neighbour last year, but the accused was later released on bail.

“However, that matter has nothing to do with this case [suicide]. The woman allegedly wrote the names of her the uncle and the aunt on her hand before ending her life,” he said.