An eight-year-old has died after allegedly being repeatedly raped for over a course of three years. Reports state the girl was allegedly raped by over 16 men, some of whom were her family members.
A case has been registered under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) Section 174 (unnatural death). According to the girl’s parents, she had been complaining of stomach aches.
During a trip to the washroom, she reportedly took a long time, and her parents had to break open the door, upon which they found her unconscious. She was then rushed to a private hospital where she died. The police are still waiting for a post-mortem report to know the definite cause of her death.
The case first came to the public eye last year, when the girl’s mother came forward to lodge a complaint with the police, claiming that the girl and her 10-year-old sister had been raped by 16 men, since 2017.
Initially, the parents were unaware of the sexual assaults until they saw some behavioural changes in their daughters, which included disturbed sleep, random fear and shivering, and not allowing anyone to touch them.
According to her stepfather, the girl who died was a bright student and wanted to be a police officer.
The 16 have been under custody and a case has been filed by the mother in Tindivanam, under the provisions of POCSO in addition to CrCP.