New Delhi: The alleged gang rapes and death of two Dalit women in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras and Balrampur districts within a week have brought the focus back on crimes against women in the state.
A 20-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped by four upper caste men on 14 September in Hathras. The woman died Tuesday, due to the injuries sustained during the alleged assault, and was forcibly cremated by the Uttar Pradesh Police on the intervening night of 29 and 30 September.
In Balrampur, a 22-year-old woman died Tuesday after having been allegedly gang-raped by two men on 29 September in Gesadi village of Balrampur. Both accused have been arrested.
Uttar Pradesh had registered the most cases of crimes against women — 59,853 in all — in the country from 1 January to 31 December 2019, according to the National Crime Records Bureau’s ‘Crime in India 2019’ report.
The NCRB report, published on 29 September, also showed that in terms of rapes committed, Uttar Pradesh ranked second (3,065) behind Rajasthan (5,997). It also ranked third in terms of rape-murder cases. Out of 278 such cases in the country, 34 were committed in Uttar Pradesh.
The state had topped the list in 2018 as well, with 59,445 cases registered that year.
ThePrint looks at some of the rape cases from Uttar Pradesh in the month of August.
Also read: She left for BA admission, came back ‘dying’ — what happened to Balrampur ‘rape’ victim
3 minors raped and killed within 20 days in one district
Three minor girls were allegedly raped and murdered in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri district within just 20 days in the month of August.
On 14 August, a 13-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly gang raped and strangled in the district. The teenager had gone to her fields in the afternoon and her body was found near a sugarcane field by her parents and relatives.
The father alleged that the girl’s eyes were gouged out and her tongue was cut, but the police denied the claims. Two accused were arrested under sections 302 (murder) and 376 (d) (gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code.
In another case, on 25 August, a 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped and killed with sharp weapons. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had directed officials to initiate strict action in the case and invoke the National Security Act (NSA) against those involved in the crime. One accused was arrested in connection with the case.
The government also extended an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the victim’s family and ensured a fast track court hearing. A three-year-old girl was also kidnapped, raped and murdered on 4 September in the same district.
Also read: Scheduled castes commission seeks action report from UP on Hathras, Balrampur ‘gang-rapes’
More rape-murders of minors in August
Several other minor girls were raped in Uttar Pradesh in the month of August.
A 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang raped by two men before being burnt by cigarette butts about 300 kms away from Gorakhpur, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s constituency on 17 August.
A minor was also allegedly raped and murdered in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district on 30 August this year. The body of the 12-year-old girl, who was missing for two days, was recovered from a forest in the Sohagi Barwa Wildlife Sanctuary. One accused in the case was arrested by the police.
In another incident, a 17-year-old minor in UP’s Bhadohi district was allegedly abducted, raped and killed on 17 August. Her body was burnt with acid to hide her identity. However, the police denied the claims based on a postmortem report, saying the girl died due to sinking.
Cases from the past
Gruesome cases of rape and murder have been registered in the state earlier this year also, especially in Unnao district.
In March 2020, a nine-year-old girl was raped and had suffered excessive bleeding in the district. The girl died during her treatment in Kanpur due to shock haemorrhage. More than ten people were detained by the police, and four policemen including a sub-inspector, a head constable and two constables were transferred.
A 23-year-old woman was gang-raped and set on fire in December 2019 in Unnao, when she was on her way to a rape case hearing. The girl died in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital after she was airlifted to the national capital.
In the same district, former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was convicted under the POCSO Act for abducting and raping a minor girl in 2017. The incident came to limelight when the girl had threatened to set herself on fire outside CM Yogi Adityanath’s residence.
An eight-year-old girl in Gautam Buddh Nagar’s Salarpur was raped by a 19-year-old youth in March 2020. The girl passed away during her treatment in Chandigarh. The accused was later arrested on charges of rape and murder.
In April this year, another 8-year-old was raped and brutally beaten to death by bricks in UP’s Firozabad district. The 24-year-old accused was arrested four days after the crime.
Also read: Dalit women often face sexual violence because of, yes, their caste
in hathras case you say upper caste to accused and dalit to girls and balrampur case simple women and men ..then why don’t you write that they are muslim…shame on you
हाथरस में तो अपर कास्ट दिखता है लेकिन बलरामपुर में मुल्ले नही दिखते ,
As you are writing four upper caste Hindu raped a girl in Hathras then why are you not mentioned two MUSLIMS raped a girl in balrampur. Your journalism not towards solving these atrocities against women it is even complicating the whole issue. This kind of journalism is loved by every kind of extremists as it help them to expand their following.
OUR POLITICIAN ARE ALSO DOING SAME THING.
You are supporting their agenda which is
फूट डालो और शासन करो
Sir I urge you to be neutral in true sense
India Shining, absolutely spectacular wonderful pleasant land.