JOIN USUnnao victim: Blackmailed, raped, threatened, burnt
The rape survivor, who was set ablaze, allegedly by five people, including the two who had been accused of raping her, on Thursday in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district, about 80 kilometres from here, and was battling for life at a Delhi hospital.
One of the main accused in the Unnao rape case, Shivam Trivedi, on Friday, was found to have promised to marry the victim earlier and had shot videos to blackmail her by threatening to upload them on social media.
The victim had approached the cops with a complaint but they did not lodge any case. A case was ultimately registered at the direction of the court.
''We told the police several times that Shivam's family members had been threatening her (victim) with dire consequences if she did not withdraw the case but no action was taken against them,'' said a family member of the victim.
Shivam's cousin Shubham, whose father was the panchayat chief of the village, had also threatened the victim on several occasions.
''The cops never questioned Shubham,'' the family member said. Both Shivam and Shubham had raped the victim in December last year. ''Shivam had surrendered in the court but Shubham was not arrested,'' he said.
According to the sources, one of the relatives of the victim were threatened allegedly by the acquaintances of the accused on Friday. ''The caller threatened to burn his shop,'' the family member said. The police are looking into the matter.
''Had the police taken action against the two main accused, this horrific incident would not have taken place,'' said Prof. Dinesh Kumar, a former faculty at Lucknow University.
''The incident is the result of the failure of the system,'' remarked Vidushi Mishra, who works with a news portal here.