Indian Gang Rape Victim Set on Fire on Way to Court, Dies
Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2019 2:58 am
FILE - The burns casualty ward of a hospital where a 23-year-old rape victim, who was set ablaze by a gang of men, including the alleged rapist, died in New Delhi, India, Dec. 6, 2019.
A woman in northern India who was on her way to a court hearing of a rape case she had filed months ago was set on fire Thursday morning by five men.
She died from her injuries late Friday.
Two of the five men were suspects in the gang rape case, according to Associated Press reports. They were out on bail, according to the news agency.
The woman, 23, suffered extensive injuries and was airlifted from Uttar Pradesh to a hospital in New Delhi where she died of cardiac arrest.
She died on the same day that four men who were suspects in a rape case in southern India were shot to death by police.
The men in the southern state of Telangana were suspects in the rape of a 27-year-old veterinarian. Authorities say the suspects set her body on fire after raping her. They wrapped her body in a blanket and dumped it under a bridge, where she was found by a passer-by.
According to the latest Indian government figures, 33,658 rape cases were reported in 2017, an average of more than 90 every day.
Women activists say the actual number is much higher because many cases are never reported.