A Dalit woman who was allegedly raped, attacked with acid and then set on fire by a man named Shakur Khan in Rajasthan’s Barmer district succumbed to her injuries on Friday, April 7. She was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Jodhpur where she was admitted in critical condition on Thursday. The police said that the woman suffered 50 per cent burns and her face was disfigured.
The incident occurred late in the evening on Thursday, April 6 in the Pachpadra police station area of Rajasthan’s Barmer. The accused who had fled after committing the heinous crime and had been absconding ever since was apprehended by the police on Friday.
Barmer additional superintendent of police (ASP) Nitesh Arya confirmed the development.
The police informed that Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has also been added to the first information report (FIR) which was filed under several sections of the IPC and the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The body of the deceased would be handed over to her family members after the autopsy.
The police took action based on a complaint lodged by the deceased’s husband on Thursday. In the complaint, the victim’s husband alleged that his wife was alone at home on Thursday as he had gone out for work and their children were in school. The accused, identified as Shakur Khan, made use of the opportunity to break into the house and raped her. Hearing his wife’s cries, their neighbour rushed to help her, but the accused, while shoving the neighbours away, poured some acid-like liquid on his wife, set her on fire, and fled the scene.
Relatives of the victim allege Rajasthan police delayed filing the FIR in the case
The woman’s relatives alleged that they approached the police at 1.30 am, but the officers first declined to file an FIR. Members of the Dalit community gathered outside the police station to protest the police’s failure to intervene in the matter. The police ultimately filed the FIR around 3.30 am. on Friday; until then, the case had become critical.
Members of the Dalit community demonstrated outside the police station after relatives of the woman claimed that the police hesitated to register the case initially.
The woman was first admitted to a government hospital in Balotra and was later referred to a higher medical institution in Jodhpur, where she succumbed to her injuries during treatment. Police said that the victim’s statement could not be recorded as she was not in a condition to talk before she died.
The police nabbed accused Shakur Khan late on Friday evening.
Police have registered a case under IPC sections 302 (punishment for murder) 376 (punishment for rape ), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 450 (house trespass in order to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment for life) and relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the accused.
