File Photo. Noah Seelam—AFP
Accused has been taken into custody and an investigation is underway, say police.
A 16-year-old Indian girl who was raped and then set on fire on the roof of her home has died, police said Wednesday, the latest in a string of horrific sexual crimes in India.
The teenager, who sustained more than 90 percent burns in Monday’s attack, died in hospital early Wednesday, the investigating officer told AFP. “Unfortunately she could not be saved despite the best efforts of the medical staff,” said Ashwani Kumar. “We have arrested the accused, who is 19 years old and sent him to judicial custody. An investigation is on to find out more about the motive and details of the crime,” he said.
Media reports quoted the girl’s father as saying a neighbor in their village in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh had been harassing his daughter for a year despite several warnings.
The fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in Delhi in 2012 shone a global spotlight on frightening levels of violence against women. It also led to major reform of India’s rape laws including speeding up of trials and increasing penalties for offenders, but high numbers of assaults persist.