A woman from India’s Dalit community has died after being gang-raped, police said yesterday, days after the death of a teenager from the same group at the hands of a group of men sparked outrage.
The 22-year-old, a member of India’s “untouchable” Dalit community, was allegedly raped by two men on Tuesday and died while being taken to hospital, police in Uttar Pradesh said.
The latest assaults came months after four men were hanged for the 2012 gang rape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi, a case that came to symbolize the nation’s problems with sexual violence.
Police said that two men in the latest case had been arrested on charges of gang rape and murder, without giving further details on their identities.
An investigation was under way and the suspects might be tried in a special fast-track court, they said.
“A rickshaw wallah [driver] brought her home. [She] was thrown in front of our house. My child could barely stand or speak,” the NDTV news channel quoted her mother as saying.
The incident took place in Balrampur district in Uttar Pradesh, about 500km from where the other Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped in the middle of last month by four men.
The 19-year-old, who was left paralyzed by her injuries, was rushed to a hospital in New Delhi 200km away, but died on Tuesday.
Her death sparked protests in Delhi and in cities in Uttar Pradesh.
India’s 200 million Dalits have long faced discrimination and abuse, and campaigners say attacks have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An average of 87 rape cases were reported every day last year, according to the latest data released on Tuesday by the Indian National Crime Records Bureau.
Large numbers of attacks are thought to go unreported.
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