Unnao Rape Victim Who's Set Ablaze Dies

A 23-year-old rape victim, who was set on fire by men accused of raping her in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao, died at a hospital in Delhi late last night.

The woman, who had suffered 90 per cent burns after she was set on fire allegedly by five persons on Thursday, died of a cardiac arrest at the Safdarjung Hospital at 11:40 pm, where she had been air-lifted to from Uttar Pradesh on Thursday evening.

The woman was set ablaze by five men, including the two who were accused of raping her in December. She was attacked outside the Sindupur village in Unnao district when she was on her way to a court in Rae Bareli to attend a hearing in rape case.

The woman, in her burnt state, was conscious all the way to the hospital, where she gave a statement to the police identifying all five attackers.

Her alleged rapist Shivam Trivedi, who was among the attackers, had been released on bail in the case five days ago. His co-accused Shubham Trivedi, who had been missing, also participated in the attack. All five attackers were arrested from their homes.

The circumstances in which the woman's rapist was released on bail are being questioned. So is the role of the police, who filed an FIR on her rape complaint in March, four months after she was allegedly gang-raped by Shivam Trivedi and his neighbor Subham Trivedi.