Pregnant after rape, woman attempts suicide

A 19-year-old woman, who was impregnated after she was allegedly raped by an autorickshaw driver on the pretext of marriage, attempted suicide by setting herself ablaze in Southeast Delhi’s Pul Prahladpur area on Tuesday evening.

The police has arrested the 24-year-old accused from his house in Sangam Vihar yesterday.

The woman suffered 80 per cent burns and was admitted to a hospital in a critical condition. The incident took place on April 25, the police said, adding she took the step after she was informed by the accused that he would not marry her. They were to get married on April 26.

In a note, the woman, who is four-month pregnant, has accused him of repeatedly raping her for two-three years after promising marriage. In

In a note, the woman, who is four-month pregnant, has accused a man of repeatedly raping her for two to three years, after making promises to marry her

her statement, she told the police that she had known the accused for the past five years. The woman used to play roles of different goddesses in ‘jagran’, a Hindu ritual consisting of song and dance in honour of deities, and met the accused in one such programme. Apart from being an autorickshaw driver, the accused used to take part in ‘jagrans’.

She alleged that the man’s family members were opposed to the match. Family members of the woman said that on Tuesday evening, she poured kerosene and set herself ablaze.