The 19-year-old Dalit woman, who was raped by four men in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday morning. She had been shifted to the Safdarjung Hospital in the national capital on Monday evening after her condition deteriorated. The woman was gangraped a fortnight ago, following which she was admitted to the AMU's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital.
On September 14, the victim was attacked in a field when she had gone to collect cattle fodder, she had been dragged with a dupatta, injuring her spinal cord. The accused had also tried to strangulate her to death as she resisted their attempt and in the process, she had also ended up biting her tongue and suffering a severe cut on it. A spokesman of the hospital said that the woman's legs were completely paralysed and arms partially paralysed.
Fakhrul Hoda, head of neurosurgery at the Aligarh hospital where she was being treated, told reporters that "Surgery to fix her spine could only have been done after her condition improved. The damage to the spinal cord appeared to be permanent."
The victim, youngest of five siblings, had been on life support. The girl was referred to Delhi on Monday on her father's request. Her brother accompanied her to Delhi.
A week after she was hospitalised, the girl told the police that she had been raped by four men whom she also named. All four accused she named — Sandip, Ramu, Lavkush and Ravi — were arrested for gang rape, attempt to murder and under sections of the SC/ST Act.
Her father had told reporters on Sunday that the families of the four accused have been threatening them for speaking out. The girl had also told her family that the four men had threatened her with dire consequences if she informed anyone about the incident.
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekar Azad on Sunday night had demanded action against those accused of the crime. Azad claimed that the brutal attack represents the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
"Policemen who have been negligent in this case should be duly punished and the woman's family members should be immediately provided security as they are feeling insecure and should be shifted to a safe spot," he said. He had also demanded financial assistance of Rs 1 crore for the woman's family.
With agency inputs