16-year-old girl beaten, burnt near Kanpur
Another shocker from Uttar Pradesh; a 16-year-old girl was allegedly beaten and set ablaze by three men in Vaina village near Kanpur on Saturday. The girl is now battling for her life at a local hospital.
The police have arrested one of the accused while two others are still on the run.
Locals say the incident took place when the teenager had gone to draw water from the hand pump close to her house. The three men stopped her from drawing water but when she ignored them, the men beat her till she fell unconscious and then poured kerosene on her, according to news agency ANI.
Villagers heard her cry and rushed her to the local hospital. Reports suggest the family of the teenager and men had a fight over the hand pump in the past. The police have lodged a First Investigation Report and started a probe but have not revealed whether it is a case of personal enmity. A special team has been set up to find the other accused, say police sources.
The
Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is under pressure over a string of crimes against women. On Friday, facing severe flak over the delay in action against his party lawmaker, accused in the Unnao rape case, the Chief Minister said his government
has not deviated from its zero-tolerance policy on crime and will firmly deal with criminals, no matter how influential they might be.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, Uttar Pradesh has seen a spike in crimes against women, particularly child sexual abuse. As per the 2016 data, all over India there has been an increase of over 82% in cases of child sexual abuse compared to 2015. In Uttar Pradesh the numbers have gone up by three times, as per the NCRB data.