Rape victim's house set on fire: Injured infants referred to KGMU Lucknow for better care

Two infants who suffered serious burns after a group of men set fire to the home of a girl, whom two of them had allegedly raped last year, have been shifted to Lucknow for better treatment, officials said on Wednesday.

The injured babies include the rape victim's six-month-old child – born after the 11-year-old was impregnated in the sexual assault – and her two-month-old sister.

Cornering the Uttar Pradesh government over the incident, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav asked whether it would do anything about the heinous crime.

Responding to the opposition leader, police said four people have been arrested.

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The two rape accused, recently released on bail, allegedly barged into the family's thatched shed Monday evening with five others, after the victim refused to withdraw the case against them, according to police.

They beat up her mother and then set the shed on fire.

Chief Medical Superintendent Sushil Srivastava had on Tuesday said that the rape victim's infant son suffered 35 per cent burns and her sister 45 per cent burns in the incident.

"As their condition worsened, both the kids were admitted to Ursula Hospital in Kanpur for better treatment," he said.

S P Chowdhury, director, Ursala Hospital, noted that during the physical examination of the children, swelling was seen on their heads and in the CT-scan, fracture was found in the skulls of both the children.

He alleged when he asked the rape victim's mother about the skull fractures, she told him that the attackers threw the kids in the fire.

"The children have been referred to the King George's Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow for specialised treatment," Chowdhary said.

Santosh Singh, Circle Officer, Purva, Unnao, had said that the rape victim's father was attacked with an axe by her grandfather and uncle, who had sided with the accused, and four other people on April 13 according to a complaint filed by her mother.

The father is admitted at the district hospital with serious injuries, he said.

Police said the Dalit girl was gang-raped on February 13, 2022. She gave birth to a son in September that year.

The victim's mother also alleged that their house was set on fire to eliminate her daughter's infant son.

SP chief Yadav took to Twitter to question the government over the incident.

"Will the BJP government do anything about the heinous incident of setting on fire a seven-month-old child of the gang rape victim in Unnao by the accused, who were out on bail in UP? Or is there no one in this heartless government to understand the grief and pain of the family members," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Replying to him, police said, the "victim's uncle has set the house on fire. It was confirmed by the children in video. An FIR under relevant sections was registered at the Maurawan police station and the accused has been arrested and sent to jail."

"It has come to the fore in the probe that the victims had a dispute with the uncle and the grandfather over the house. Police have arrested four, including them," police said in another tweet.