5th rape victim dies in UP since Sept

New Delhi: The 18-year-old rape victim, who was allegedly burnt by the perpetrator in Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh last week, succumbed to her injuries in a Kanpur hospital on Thursday, making it the fifth such case in the state lately.

In yet another case, a rape victim had self-immolated outside the police chief ’s office in Unnao earlier this week alleging inaction and is presently struggling for her life in the hospital. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had told the state assembly on Wednesday that there has been a drop in rape cases by 19% in 2019 and 21% in murder cases this year in the state as compared to the Samajwadi Party government regime in 2016.

“The accused have been arrested in nearly all the six cases,” said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity. He said a strong example will be set in such cases through a fast-track trial and pressing for a death penalty for the accused, so that “no trend of such crimes is established as five-six such cases in quick succession is worrying.”


Earlier this month, a rape victim in Unnao was burnt by the accused who had stepped out on bail. She breathed her last in Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital later. There was a case in Chitrakoot where a women was found raped and murdered and yet another case in Sambhal where a 16-year-old girl was raped and burnt in September. A case of an alleged rape and murder of a schoolgirl in Mainpuri is also being probed by a Special Investigation team.