In flames, UP rape survivor ran some distance for help

The rape survivor, who was set ablaze by five people, including the two who had allegedly raped her, in Unnao district on Thursday, ran more than five hundred metres to seek help.

The offenders fled from the spot after perpetrating the crime, apparently thinking that she would die within a few minutes.

According to eyewitnesses, the victim, who was in flames, reached a house in the early hours and shouted for help. The inmates, who were shocked to find her burning, quickly doused the flames and made her lie down on a cot.

One of the people in the house gave her his cell phone, from which she made called '112', the Emergency Police Response number. An ambulance reached the spot and she was taken to the hospital, the eyewitnesses said.

The witnesses said that it was very early in the morning and there was hardly anyone on the road or in the fields owing to chilly weather conditions.

Sources quoting the doctors at the district hospital in Unnao said that since the victim's clothes were on fire, running might have fanned the flames and made them burn faster.

Furthermore, there was also a delay in shifting her to the state capital. The incident occurred around five in the morning and she was admitted to the burn ward in the Civil Hospital here six hours later.