9-yr-old Dalit girl gang raped, 'forcibly' cremated in Delhi; accused priest, 3 others arrested

New Delhi: A nine-year-old Dalit girl in South west Delhi was allegedly gang-raped, killed by the attackers who then cremated by her body on Sunday evening, said Delhi Police.

Four suspects- a priest named Radhe Shyam, his workers Laxmi Narayan and Kuldeep and Salim, a resident of the area were arrested by the police on Monday after the child's mother identified them.

According to the police, the girl had gone to collect water from the nearby crematorium's water cooler around 5.30pm Sunday.

The accused called the victim's mother around half an hour later to to inform that her child had gotten electrocuted while using the cooler.

The girl had burn marks between the left wrist and elbow of the girl and her lips had turned blue, as per police reports.

Apparently, the accused has warned the family against informing the police and told them to hurry up with the cremation.

The accused have been charged under sections 376 (rape), 302 (murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 204 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) apart from the relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the SC/ST Act.

Meanwhile, family members of the victim and the residents of Purana Nangal in the Delhi Cantonment area, where the family lives, had staged a protest Monday evening demanding the death penalty for the accused.

The Police had initially registered charges of culpable homicide, wrongful confinement and destruction of evidence only in the case

However, as the news sparked outrage among people on social media with many comparing the incident to the Hathras rape case, and based on the family's statement to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, rape charges were added.