A 16-year-old Dalit girl in poll-bound Bihar’s Gaya district died by suicide after allegedly being gang-raped by four men. The case comes at a time when the entire nation is raging against alleged gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras.
According to the police, the girl’s parents have filed a case of gang rape and have named three of the four accused as Rahul Kumar, Chintu Kumar and Chandan Yadav.
The autopsy was done at Gaya Medical College and the results are awaited.
Gaya SSP Rajiv Mishra said a case has been lodged with Konch police station under POCSO (protection of children from sexual offences) Act and Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. He claimed that he has conducted spot- inspection along with Tekari DSP.
“A special investigation team (SIT) led by additional SP has been constituted to probe the incident. No evidence of gang rape has been found during the investigation so far. A swab of the deceased girl has also been sent for lab testing. Chandan Yadav, one among the three named accused was found loitering around girl’s house, with whom the girl used to talk over the phone. Family members of the deceased girl had scolded Chandan for this in the past. The SIT has been asked to take Chandan into custody and interrogate him,” the SSP said in a statement issued on Saturday.
“The case is being investigated from all possible angles as the girl had left her house on her own, in the evening of the incident. Police are also conducting a scientific investigation with the help of technical cell on the basis of call records of the mobile number owned by the girl. The post-mortem report is also awaited.” He added.
However, according to family members of the deceased girl, she had gone to attend a birthday party in a neighbouring house on September 29. When she did not return till late night, family members started searching for her. Next morning she was found from a house in the village and was brought back home.
“After reaching home, the girl locked herself in a room and hanged herself from the ceiling with the help of a dupatta. Family members admitted her at a private nursing home in Gaya town in a critical condition from where the doctor referred her to Patna. She, however, succumbed to her injuries in Patna on Thursday evening. The post-mortem was conducted at Anuragh Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital (ANMMCH) on Friday after which she was cremated at Vishnupad burning ghat in Gaya town,” a senior police official in Gaya told.