Minor rape victim ends life in U.P.

A Dalit teenager, who was allegedly gangraped, committed suicide on Tuesday in this district of Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

Chitrakoot Superintendent of Police (SP) Ankit Mittal said the 15-year-old girl committed suicide by hanging herself in her house in a village in the Manikpur area.

After the girl’s death, her family members alleged that she was raped by three men in a forest area on October 8, the officer said.

On the basis of a complaint from the victim’s family members, former village head’s son Kishan Upadhyay and two others -- Ashish and Satish -- were arrested under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the SP said.

The family members alleged that the girl committed suicide as her complaint was not registered, a charge denied by the police, who said the victim’s kin had not given any application to lodge an FIR.

The SP said the post-mortem examination did not confirm rape and the samples would now be sent to a Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL).

The girl will be cremated on Wednesday in the village, where elaborate security arrangements have been made.

The victim’s father alleged that after raping his daughter, the accused left her with her hands and legs tied and the police brought her back, but did not register an FIR.

Those in distress or having suicidal tendencies could seek help and counselling by calling any of the following numbers: