The 3 Shahjahanpur cops have been suspended and a criminal case has been filed against them.
Highlights
- In her dying declaration, woman said cops refused to register complaint
- Cops allegedly pressured her family to take money from the accused
- Three policemen have been suspended, case filed against them
A 27-year-old gang-rape survivor who set herself and her 12-year-old son on fire yesterday died in a hospital at Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur this morning. The woman was admitted to hospital with 95 percent burns. Her son, who suffered about 15 per cent burns, is stable.
In a dying declaration, the woman has alleged that the police refused to register her gang-rape complaint and the same men gang-raped her again on August 18.
The woman's husband told the police that he was not at home when she set herself on fire.
The couple had allegedly been trying to have a case of rape registered against three men from the village at the local police station for over a month. The police had refused to file a First Information Report, the husband alleged. Instead, they allegedly pressured the family to take money from the accused and arrive at a compromise.
Three policemen have been suspended and a criminal case has been filed against them.
"A government official managed to record her dying declaration. The husband of the woman has filed an FIR now and one person has been named. That person has been arrested by us. We are taking more steps based on the dying declaration," said Shivasimpi Chanappa, the police chief of Shahjahanpur.
He said the police officer in charge of the station and two sub-inspectors have been charged because they knew about the case but did not act.
According to reports, the woman was first gang-raped about six months ago by three men from her village. The attackers threatened to kill her child if she told anyone.
The woman finally told her husband about a month ago and the couple went to the police, who refused to act. She was allegedly attacked again by the accused.
The UP administration is already facing criticism over its handling of the Unnao rape case, which surfaced in the public glare after the teen rape survivor attempted suicide outside Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's home in Lucknow. The teenager said the police had refused to take any action on her complaint against a BJP lawmaker, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who was finally arrested amid public outrage.