Unnao again: Rape accused celebrates pre-arrest bail

The humiliated victim tried to kill herself by committing self-immolation

A 22-year-old woman tried to kill herself by committing self-immolation in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district after she reportedly felt humiliated by the celebrations of the rape accused who was granted pre-arrest bail. The person had allegedly raped the victim for months on the pretext of marrying her.

The victim, who suffered 80 per cent burns, was admitted to the hospital, where her condition was stated to be ''very critical''.

According to the police sources here, the victim poured kerosene oil on herself and set herself ablaze in front of the main gate of the Unnao police chief's office on Monday.

Sources said that the victim had lodged a complaint with the police a few months back accusing a youth from her locality of repeatedly raping her on the pretext of marriage.

''The police, instead of arresting the accused, allowed him ample time to move the court to get anticipatory bail,'' the victim's mother alleged on Tuesday.

She said that her daughter had met several senior police officials and given more than one hundred applications to get justice but nothing happened.

''The accused, after securing anticipatory bail, distributed sweets in the locality last week....she could not bear the humiliation and tried to kill herself,'' the mother said.

Police officials in Unnao said that they were investigating the matter. ''We will take stern action against the cops if we find any laxity on their part,'' said a senior police official.

Unnao has earned the dubious distinction of perhaps the most unsafe place for the women in the country with around one hundred cases of rape since the beginning of the year.

Incidentally, the incident occurred on a day, when a Delhi court convicted expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Senger in the rape and kidnapping of a minor in Unnao.