This second case concerns a 22-year-old woman who was raped on Tuesday by two men and died en route to the hospital in Uttar Pradesh state, local police said.
The Dalits, formerly called “untouchables”, are on the fringes of India’s rigid caste system and are usually a very disadvantaged community.
According to police, the two suspects were arrested and charged with collective rape and murder.
The authorities indicated that an investigation is still ongoing and that the suspects could be tried in an expedited procedure by a special court.
“A rickshaw driver brought her home. (The young woman) was left in front of our house. My daughter could barely get up or speak,” said the victim’s mother, quoted by NDTV.
The attack on the 22-year-old took place in the Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh.
About 500 kilometers from this location, there was the case of another young ‘Dalit’, who was raped in mid-September, allegedly by four men of higher caste.
This 19-year-old victim had been hospitalized since she was raped by four men on September 14 in the village of Hathras in Uttar Pradesh state and died on Tuesday.
His death sparked protests in New Delhi and several cities in Uttar Pradesh.
These new rape cases occur after the execution on March 20 of four men who raped in a group and murdered a student on a bus in New Delhi in December 2012, a crime that has become a symbol of the problem of sexual violence against women in India.
The approximately 200 million Indian Dalits have long suffered aggression and discrimination. The aggressions increased during the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus, according to its supporters.
In 2019, an average of 87 daily rapes were recorded in India and crimes against women increased by more than 7% per year, according to official data released on Tuesday.
However, that number could be higher, because many violations are not reported, according to experts.
CSR // FPA
Lusa / End
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