A Dalit teenager allegedly raped by four upper-caste men died of her injuries on Tuesday, sparking outrage from Indian activists, politicians and Bollywood stars.
India’s 200 million low-caste “untouchable” Dalits have long faced discrimination and abuse and campaigners say attacks have increased during the coronavirus pandemic.
The 19-year-old woman was brutally assaulted in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on September 14, according to a complaint filed by the family with police.
The four accused have been arrested, according to the authorities.
Found lying in a pool of blood and paralysed from injuries to her neck and spine, the woman rushed to a local hospital before being brought to New Delhi on Monday as her condition worsened.
“She died during the course of treatment on Tuesday morning. We will ensure swift investigation and trial in the case,” Hathras district police chief Vikrant Vir told AFP.
The news comes months after four men were hanged for the brutal gang rape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi in 2012 — a case which came to symbolise the nation’s problem with sexual violence, gaining worldwide notoriety and being turned into a Netflix TV show.
Bollywood personalities and women’s rights activists took to social media to condemn this month’s attack.
“Sad, sad day. How much longer can this be allowed to go on,” wrote director-producer Farhan Akhtar.
Activist Kavita Krishnan said the attack reflected the “larger picture of structural violence” against Dalit women.
Priyanka Gandhi, a member of the opposition Congress party, blamed the assault on the deteriorating law-and-order situation in Uttar Pradesh, which is ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
Women in India are subjected to alarming levels of sexual assaults, irrespective of their caste or class.
Nearly 34,000 rapes were reported in the country in 2018, but the figures are considered the tip of the iceberg, with many victims too scared to come forward.
