Rape victim who set herself on fire outside Supreme Court dies

New Delhi: The 24-year-old woman who lodged a rape case against BSP MP Atul Rai and set herself on fire outside the Supreme Court died on Tuesday. She alleged that senior IPS officers and a judge from Uttar Pradesh were "part of a nexus"

She was a student in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur district. She came to Delhi on August 16 with a 27-year-old man, a Delhi University graduate. The duo arrived at the Supreme Court on the same day and set themselves on fire. They streamed the incident on Facebook Live, reported The Indian Express.

A senior official at the RML Hospital said that the woman had sustained 85%of burn injuries and the man had 65%. Doctors performed surgeries on them the same day but severe burn injuries made treatment difficult. The man had died during the treatment on Saturday. Both suffered organ failure.

The woman alleged that MP Rai raped her on March 7, 2018, and she filed an FIR on May 1, 2019. She stated that Rai called her to his apartment in Varanasi and sexually assaulted her. He also filmed the assault and threatened to circulate the video on social media.

She met Rai while contesting student union elections and had sought financial help from him.

The Delhi police have initiated a probe based on the Live video on the man's social media profile. A case has been registered under IPC Section 309 (attempted suicide) against unknown persons. The police have found that the woman had come to Delhi last month to protest against senior UP officers who were allegedly helping MP Rai. The UP government has set up a two-member committee, headed by a DG-level officer to lead the investigation.

Her parents said that they did not know that she went to Delhi. They added that the MP's associates have been harassing them to withdraw the case.

Rai surrendered on June 22, 2019, and was sent to judicial custody. While he remains in jail, he contested in the Ghosi Lok Sabha elections and won. The case is pending before a local court in Prayagraj. District government counsel, Gulab Chandra Agrihari said that nine prosecution witnesses have been examined by the court and the defence will get the statements examined, said The Indian Express report.

Rai's brother Pawan Kumar lodged a complaint against the victim alleging that she forged documents. He alleged that her date of birth produced in her two mark sheets is different. A local court in Varanasi issued a non-bailable warrant against her on August 2.

She was accused under IPC Section 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy.

The father of the victim told The Indian Express that they want the government to take strict action against the policemen. The woman's brother said that the police never came for an inquiry before issuing a non-bailable warrant citing she "remained untraceable despite several raids". He added that the woman was home and did not abscond.