New Delhi: Close on the heels of a 19-year-old Dalit girl’s death in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district following gangrape and physical assault comes the report of the death of another Dalit woman in a case of alleged gangrape in the state’s Balrampur district.Following the family’s complaint, two persons – Shahid and Sahil – have been arrested so far.As per news reports, the incident took place on September 30, when the victim, a second year B Com student, was returning home. According to Dev Ranjan Verma, superintendent of police, Balrampur, she also worked at a local private firm. At around 7 pm, she reached home in an e-rickshaw in a semi-unconscious state with a glucose drip attached to her hand.“She was in a bad state. The relatives took her to a hospital but she died on the way,” Ranjan told ANI.The mother told reporters that the woman went to get her admission at 10 am. “We have receipts. On her way back, 3-4 men forcibly put her in their car, injected her and raped her. They broke her legs and sent her back in a rickshaw. She had no strength left even to walk.” The mother said that her daughter told her she had severe stomach pain. As per some news report, she was unable to speak and “could only manage to utter the words – I am in a lot of pain, I won’t survive.”She was rushed to a local hospital but considering her serious condition, the family was advised to take her to Lucknow for better treatment. She died on the way.A news report has quoted the police as saying that the victim might have been raped at the backroom of a grocery store in her village. “The victim’s sandals were found outside the room and the owner of the grocery store is the alleged mastermind of the crime,” the police said.Also Read: Hathras Case: The Intersecting Factors Behind Structural Violence Against Dalit WomenAccording to news agency PTI, the district magistrate and the SP, along with the mahant of the Devipatan temple, Mithilesh Nath Yogi, visited the victim’s house on Thursday morning, met the family members and condoled her death.“The family members were assured that the accused will be given a strict punishment in accordance with law. A letter sanctioning a financial assistance of Rs 6,18,450 was handed over to them by the mahant. The amount will be sent to the victim’s mother’s bank account by the afternoon,” a statement issued here said.Meanwhile, the victim’s mother has demanded a compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a government job for her son.“My daughter wanted to become a lawyer but she was killed. The same fate should await the culprits. We want justice. My son should be given a government job and we should get at least Rs 25 lakh as compensation,” she said.With the BJP government already under pressure due to the Hathras case, the Balrampur incident is likely to see it face more criticism. Political parties have said that under the Yogi Adityanath government, Dalits and women face unprecedented violence.The National Crime Record Bureau released its report for crime statistics in 2019 earlier this week, showing that on an average, almost 10 Dalit women are raped every day across India. Rajasthan and UP top the list of crimes, with the former recording 554 cases of rapes against Dalit women and the latter 537.(With PTI inputs)
