5-Year-Old Rape Victim Dies In India
A 5-year-old rape victim has died in India. The little girl has been in the Care Hospital in Madhya Pradesh since April 18 as the result of a brutal rape.
Two men have been arrested in connection with the rape. Firoz Kahn, age 35, was reportedly friends with the child’s parents. Kahn and another man reportedly lured the child away from her parent’s home. The 5-year old was brutally raped and then abandoned on her family’s farm.
As reported by India Times, the child’s parents found her the following morning, unconscious. The 5-year-old rape victim was transported to the hospital by air ambulance but remained in a coma. Hospital officials report that she suffered a brain injury when her attackers attempted to smother her.
As reported by ABC News, the little girl died on Monday as a result of the attack and rape. The child suffered cardiac arrest, and doctors were unable to revive her.
Local residents in Bhagalpur assisted authorities with the capture of one of the accused rapists. Firoz Kahn went into hiding after the rape but was eventually found at the home of his uncle. Times of India reports that he may have planned to escape across the border into Nepal.
Another 5-year-old rape victim remains in a hospital in New Delhi. Controversy continues to surround her case, as police reportedly refused to register the child as missing.
She was reportedly kidnapped by two men who took her to an empty room in the building where she lived. She was tortured and raped repeatedly.
Neighbors eventually found the girl two days later when they heard her screaming for help. As reported by NW Asian Weekly, doctors have confirmed that she is still hospitalized but that her condition continues to improve.
Bihar police arrested a 24-year-old suspect. The man is currently incarcerated in New Delhi and has been questioned about the incident.
Hundreds of New Delhi residents have protested, for days, outside police headquarters. They are demanding to know why police refused to register the child as missing.
Discussing the continued rape of women and little girls, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh states that “The gruesome assault on the little girl a few days back reminds us once again of the need to work collectively to root out this sort of depravity from our society.”
Indeed, the death of one 5-year-old rape victim and the hospitalization of another are both grim reminders of the sexual violence that continues in India. As stated by Meenakshi Ganguly of Human Rights Watch, residents of India need “the government to focus urgently on implementation if it is serious about protecting children and other victims of sexual abuse.”
[Image via Fotopedia]
