On September 18, 2017, an 18-year-old Dalit woman died by suicide, in a hospital in Haryana, two days after she had consumed poison. A month before this, the victim who lived in the Palwan village, was on her way to get water from a neighbouring area in the village. On her way, she was allegedly taken to a field by three men, Rahul, Praveen, and Kuldeep (castes unreported), who then gangraped her.
On the same day, the victim narrated the incident to her parents. However, fearing social stigma, the family of the victim decided not to file a police complaint. Instead, they complained to the families of the accused, asking them to counsel their boys to stay away from their daughter.
The gangrape and the complaint made by the victims family was followed by a month of harassment and public shaming further committed by the accused. The accused would stalk the victim, often demanding that she accompany them. When she refused, they would paste posters outside the victim’s house, with false details of the rape and objectionable remarks about the victim, in order to shame her and warn her of further humiliation if she took action against them. They would also taunt her when she went out. Finally, they threw a letter inside her house with more vulgar remarks which drove her to commit suicide. Unable to bear the harassment, she consumed poison on September 16, after which she was admitted to a hospital. She died two days later. The Jind SP Arun Singh said that the three accused were arrested and charges under the relevant sections of the IPC and the SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were filed against them.
Supporting Links:
https://www.deccanherald.com/content/633877/family-kept-mum-dalit-rape.html
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/dalit-gang-rape-victim-ends-life-after-accused-shame-her-in-jind/story-k9RaH1W4T54RmDRyCbLo7J.html
https://indianexpress.com/article/chandigarh/18-yr-old-dalit-girl-commits-suicide-after-gangrape-3-arrested-4851752/
