New India rape & burn atrocity

For the third time in a week, a teenage girl in India has been raped and then burned alive by her attacker.

The 16-year-old died Thursday in Madhya Pradesh state after being doused with gasoline and set on fire by a 26-year-old man. She had warned him that she would tell her family she had been raped, according to news reports.

A married father of one has been arrested along with his cousin, who told him the girl was home alone.

Last week, a 16-year-old in eastern Jharkhand state was killed after her family sought justice when she was abducted and possibly gang-raped.

Village elders ordered the accused to do 100 situps and pay a fine of about $750, which enraged some men. They broke into the family home, beat the parents and set the girl on fire. At least 20 men have been arrested.

A 17-year-old is fighting for her life after being burned over 95 percent of her body in a different attack, also in Jharkhand.

That atrocity reportedly came after she refused to marry her 28-year-old attacker.

There is no known connection between the incidents.

The number of reported rapes in India has risen steadily in recent years, to about 40,000 in 2016. Child rapes account for about 40 percent of the cases.

Many more are believed to go unreported.