A 17-year-old Dalit girl from a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Chitrakoot district died by suicide on Tuesday, allegedly by hanging, after her family says police failed to act on a gang rape complaint they had filed following an incident on the day of Holi. Police have registered a case against three minor boys following her death and said an investigation is underway.
The case has triggered political outrage, with a Samajwadi Party MLA visiting the family and accusing the police of deliberately suppressing the gang rape complaint.
What the Family Alleged
The girl’s family alleged that she was gang raped by three local youths on the day of Holi. They say they approached the police but their complaint was not taken seriously and no action was initiated against the accused. Unable to bear the trauma and the absence of justice, the girl took her own life.
What Police Said
Chitrakoot Superintendent of Police Arun Kumar Singh gave a different account of what had transpired. He said that on Holi, the girl’s mother had made a verbal complaint about forced colouring but had explicitly requested that no legal action be taken at that time. The parents also submitted a written statement and recorded video testimonies to that effect, which are now part of the official record.
Following the girl’s death, police registered a fresh case based on a new complaint from the family against the three accused, who are minors, under Section 70 dealing with gang rape and Section 108 dealing with abetment of suicide under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with other relevant provisions. Singh assured that strict action would be taken against any police personnel found to have been negligent in handling the matter.
SP MLA Meets Family, Demands Action Against Police
Samajwadi Party MLA from Chitrakoot Sadar, Anil Pradhan, visited the grieving family and accused the police of having suppressed the gang rape incident at the time it was reported. He demanded financial assistance for the family, legal protection and stern punitive action against police officers found responsible for the inaction that preceded the girl’s death.
