Amid an outpouring of anguish, the last rites of the 13-year-old Dalit girl, who died on Thursday night while receiving treatment for her burn injuries at a private hospital in Hyderabad, were performed at her native village Pallegudem near here on Friday afternoon. Nearly four weeks ago, she was set ablaze by a 25-year-old married man when she resisted his alleged rape attempt at his house here.
The victim, who worked as a domestic help at the house of the accused Allam Maraiah of Mustafanagar here, suffered around 70% burns after the latter allegedly poured petrol on her before setting her ablaze after a failed rape attempt on September 18.
In view of the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the poor parents of the girl sent her, their second daughter, to Khammam to work as a domestic help, sources close to the victim’s family said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The gruesome incident came to light around 15 days after the actual crime, as the accused, who hails from the same community as the victim, admitted her to a local private hospital clandestinely and resorted to intimidating tactics.
For nearly a fortnight, the girl suffered in silence at the private hospital, the management of which treated the injured girl in the regular ward.
The incident came to the fore belatedly on October 5, after a video clip showing the bed-ridden girl narrating her heart-wrenching ordeal went viral on social media.
ADVERTISEMENT
Following public outcry, the authorities shifted the girl to Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad on the same day, and a few days later moved her to a private hospital in the State capital for better treatment.
The district health authorities sealed Sri Pooja Hospital in Khammam on October 8 for failing to inform the police about the medico-legal case.
The Khammam 1 town police booked Maraiah under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, and other relevant Sections of the IPC on October 5. He was remanded to judicial custody for two weeks.
The body of the victim was brought to Pallegudem from Hyderabad amid tight security arrangements on Friday. Tension prevailed in the village later in the day when activists of women’s organisations staged a demonstration with the body of the victim at the burial ground. They raised slogans demanding a speedy trial inthe horrific case and harshest punishment for the accused.