A 19-year-old Dalit rape victim, who was gang raped and left paralysed by four upper caste men, died a fortnight after the attack in a Delhi hospital on Tuesday.
She was shifted to the Safdarjung Hospital in the national capital on Monday evening after her condition deteriorated.
On September 14, According to the family, in the morning, the victim, her elder brother and mother went to the village forest to cut grass. When a bundle of grass was tied, the elder brother came home with it. Mother and daughter were left alone in the farm. Mother was cutting the grass further. The daughter was gathering that grass some distance behind. Meanwhile, the four accused gang-raped the victim with a scarf draped around her neck in Bajra's(millet) field.
Regarding the incident of that day, the victim's brother says, "When the mother calls out for her sister, there was no response." First she saw her slippers in the rams made to give water, then saw the broken plant of millet, then she went inside the field where she was lying unconscious in a very bad condition within twenty meters When the mother screamed, some children came, she immediately sent them to call people and fetch water. Children brought water filled in the ram with polythene. He put it on his mouth but he did not feel conscious.
As per the reports, the victim was dragged by the dupatta around her neck to a field when she had gone to collect cattle fodder, which injured her spinal cord. When she was held down,they cut her tongue so that she would not give any statement after the incident.
Fakhrul Hoda, head of neurosurgery at the Aligarh hospital where she was being treated, told reporters that "Surgery to fix her spine could only have been done after her condition improved. The damage to the spinal cord appeared to be permanent."
The victim, youngest of five siblings, was on life support for sometime. The girl was referred to Delhi on Monday on her father's request. Her brother accompanied her to Delhi.
A week after she was hospitalised, the girl told the police that she had been raped by four men whom she also named.
All four accused she named -- Sandip, Ramu, Lavkush and Ravi -- were arrested for gang rape, attempt to murder and under sections of the SC/ST Act.
Her father had told reporters on Sunday that the families of the four accused have been threatening them for speaking out. The girl had also told her family that the four men had threatened her with dire consequences if she informed anyone about the incident.
victim's brother says, 'I have not been home for 12 days. Sister is unable to speak She is just recognizing with eyes. Sometimes gestures. I am desperate to hear her voice. She is fighting to the death. '
The family alleged the main accused, Sandeep, and his family had “always harassed Dalits in their area”. Nearly two decades ago, Sandeep’s grandfather had been booked under the SC/ST Act and served three months in prison for allegedly thrashing the victim’s grandfather over a petty issue.
The victim’s brother said the incident of 19 years ago had left rancour between the families, “but nothing ever happened”. “They are upper castes and have always called us names. We ignore them. Sandeep is an alcoholic who harasses women, but nobody ever files a complaint,” he said.
Furious people protesting at Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi:
There is a crowd of people outside the newly constructed building of Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. People are not happy with UP Police's role in all of this. Hathras police have so far arrested four accused named Sandeep, Ramkumar, Lavkush and Ravi in this case. All four are of the so-called upper caste. However, Dalit organizations allege that the police tried to cover up the case.
First filed a case of attempt to murder only. Only one person was made accused. No one was arrested for ten days. The accused were arrested when Dalit leader Chandrashekhar tweeted and announced to go to Aligarh.