In what has become a dreadful development in the appalling row of violence against women, a 19-year-old Dalit woman, who was raped by four men in Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh, has died on Tuesday morning in Delhi due to the grave injuries and as soon as her demise came to light, it had triggered protests and outrage across the nation demanding to deliver justice for the victim. 

The girl was gang-raped two weeks ago and she was initially treated at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in the Aligarh Muslim University campus in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh and after her health deteriorated, she was moved to Delhi for further treatments. According to reports, the girl was attacked in a field when she went to collect cattle fodder on September 14. 

The gang of four men had attacked and dragged her and raped her.  The accused had attempted to strangulate her to death. However, she had resisted their attempt during which she ended up bitting her tongue and she suffered a severe cut on it. The reports say that the gang had raped her near her home in Hathras district, which is about 100 kilometers from Delhi. 

She had sustained severe injuries on her body and spinal cord and she was rushed to the Jawahar Lal Nehru Hospital in Aligarh. The spokesperson of the hospital said that the woman's legs were completely paralyzed and arms partially paralyzed. The head of the neurosurgery at the hospital had shocking revealed that surgery to fix her spine could only have been done after her condition improved and the damage that she sustained at the spinal cord appeared to be permanent. 

Nearly a week after she was admitted, the girl divulged the police that she had been raped by four men and she also had named them. Following the revelation, the police had arrested Sandip, Ramu, Ravi, and Lavkush, whom the girl named and all the four accused have been booked under the grounds of gang rape, attempt to murder, and under sections of the SC/ST Act. The victim was the youngest of five siblings and she was placed under life support. 

As her health had deteriorated, her father had requested to move her to Delhi for further treatments following which she was taken to Delhi and admitted at Safdarjung hospital on Monday evening. However, amid the treatment, she had breathed her last on Tuesday morning, which had sparked protests and outrage across the country. 

According to reports, the girl's father said that the family members of the four accused have been intimidating them for speaking out against the crime and the accused had also threatened the girl not to divulge about the incident to anyone. Following her demise, the opposition parties had protested against the Uttar Pradesh state government in its failure to protect women. 

Around 300 protestors from the Bhim Army, which is working for the Dalit rights, had staged protests at the hospital premises. The Chief of the outfit said that the policemen who have been negligent in this case should be brought under books and the family members of the victim must be provided with security to ensure their safety. The leader demanded that the family of the victim should be given Rs 1 crore as compensation. 

The district authorities of Hathras had asserted that they would be taking the matter to fast-track court to expedite the investigation. Taking to Twitter, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi slashed the Uttar Pradesh government and said that criminals are openly committing crimes. Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli had also condemned the act. By taking to Twitter, Kohli said, "What happened in #Hathras is inhumane and goes beyond cruelty. Hope the culprits of this heinous crime will be brought to justice. #JusticeForManishaValmiki"

What happened in #Hathras is inhumane and goes beyond cruelty. Hope the culprits of this heinous crime will be brought to justice. #JusticeForManishaValmiki

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) September 29, 2020

According to Reuters, Uttar Pradesh, which is the home state of the victim and ruled by Prime Minister Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, ranks as the most unsafe for women in the country. The Central government data, which was released in January this year, revealed that at least one woman has been reporting a rape every 15 minutes on an average in the country in 2018.