The Uttar Pradesh police on Monday arrested one person for attacking a Dalit girl at Bindki tehsil in Fatehpur district on Saturday. Three persons attempted to rape the girl, and when she resisted, they chopped off her nose, ear and limbs.
Special Director-General of Police (Law and Order) Brij Lal told journalists in Lucknow that the interrogation of Shiv Om, one of the three accused, revealed that he knew the girl and wanted to marry her.
When she refused, he attacked her in a fit of anger. Another accused, Hari Shankar, was arrested earlier, while the third youth is absconding. The Dalit girl was admitted to the Hallet Hospital in Kanpur in a critical condition.
Mr. Lal said a case under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (attempt to rape) was registered against the three in the Bindki police station.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday visited the victim at the Kanpur hospital.
Earlier, he visited the house of another rape victim at Shahbazpur village in Banda district and assured her of all possible help.
(Bahujan Samaj Party MLA from Naraini Purshottam Naresh Dwivedi, currently in jail, has been accused of raping the girl in December last year. The rape victim was later sent to jail on trumped up charges.)
The victim reportedly told Mr. Gandhi about the threats her family was facing. She demanded adequate security at her home. Mr. Gandhi was at her house for 30 minutes and was reportedly served jaggery and a glass of milk.
Mr. Gandhi's unscheduled visit to Banda created a flutter in administrative circles. However, Mr. Lal said the administration had prior information of the Congress MP's Kanpur visit. Though no prior information was given about his visit to Banda, arrangements at the local level were made when he reached the town.
