Pilibhit: A 15-year-old Dalit rape survivor was found hanging at her house in a village under Neemgaon police station limits in Kheri district on Monday, police said.
Senior police officials, including SP Khyati Garg and the local CO, reached the spot as the deceased and the accused belonged to different communities. The body was sent for postmortem, and police force was deployed in the village to maintain law and order.
An FIR in the alleged rape case was lodged on July 5 under BNS section 65, which deals with rape of a woman under 16 years of age, and relevant provisions of the Pocso Act, based on a complaint filed by the girl’s mother. As per the complaint, the 21-year-old accused, a resident of the same village, entered the girl’s house around 5pm on July 5 when her family members were away for agricultural work. He was arrested the same night after the FIR and sent to jail the next day.
SP Garg told TOI, “Preliminary investigation by the CO has revealed that the girl and the accused were in a relationship for over two years. The victim had initially denied rape, but after the FIR was lodged, she confirmed the allegations in her statement recorded before court under BNSS section 183.”
Police said they are probing the circumstances that led to the girl’s death and have not ruled out the possibility that she was under emotional distress after testifying against the accused. Further action will be taken after the postmortem report, officials added.
Courtesy : TOI
Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights