Unnao rape survivor fights for life after being set ablaze by accused

A23-year-old rape victim was set ablaze by a gang of men, including the alleged rapist, as she made her way to court in Uttar Pradesh yesterday, police said, stirring public outrage and shame over the scourge of crimes against women.

During the past week, thousands of Indians have protested in several cities following the alleged rape and murder of a 27-year-old vet near the southern city of Hyderabad.

The woman, attacked and burned yesterday morning, was in a critical condition, according to D.S. Negi, a doctor at the Civil Hospital in Lucknow, the capital of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

She had been on her way to catch a train in Unnao district to attend a hearing when she was doused with kerosene and set on fire, police said.

The incident took place in Hindu Nagar village under Bihar police station of Unnao where the minor had been gang raped in March.

Seeing the woman go up in flames, panic stricken villagers cases of rape reported in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 informed the police who first took the rape survivor to the district hospital from where she was referred to the Trauma Centre of King George Medical University in Lucknow.

The police have arrested three men, namely, Hari Shankar Dwiwedi, Shubham Dwiwedi and Shivam Dwiwedi. Two others are absconding.

‘Unfortunate incident’

DGP O.P. Singh described the incident as unfortunate and said that every effort would be made to save the victim.

“As per victim’s statement five people were involved in setting her on fire, including the one who was accused in the rape case,” Vikrant Vir, a police superintendent in Unnao, said.

Police documents showed the woman had filed a complaint with Unnao police in March alleging that she had been raped at gun-point on December 12, 2018.

Having been subsequently jailed, the alleged rapist was released last week after securing bail, police officer S.K. Bhagat said in Lucknow.

Reacting to this fresh case of rape Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for lying through their teeth regarding the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh.

In a tweet, she said: “Seeing such incidents occur on a daily basis saddens ones heart. BJP leaders should now come out of their false propaganda.”

Uttar Pradesh is India’s most populous state and has become notorious for its poor record regarding crimes against women, with more than 4,200 cases of rape reported there in 2017 — the highest in the country.

The Uttar Pradesh state government, currently controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), came under fire in July from opposition groups accusing it of protecting a lawmaker accused of rape.

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