Teen ends life after rape; kin blame cops for delay

A 16-year old rape victim committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone district after police allegedly refused to register her complaint, her family members have claimed.

After the girl's death on Saturday, the police arrested the accused, Bachchu Sukhram Bundela (28), on Sunday.

The girl was allegedly raped by the accused on December 16 after he took her to an isolated place while she was returning to her village from Maheshwar, located about 55 km from the district headquarters, Additional Superintendent of Police Shashikant Kankane said.

She allegedly consumed a pesticide at her home in a village here on Friday and died during treatment at the district hospital here on Saturday, he said.

The accused was arrested on Sunday and booked under IPC Section 376 (rape) and provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Kankane said.

However, talking to reporters here, the victim's father alleged that he and his daughter went thrice to the police but their complaint was not registered.

He said they initially went to Kakadda police post and then twice to Maheshwar police station to lodge the complaint.

"Instead of registering the complaint, the police questioned my daughter's character," he alleged.

Kankane, however, said the girl and her father did not cooperate with the police when a woman sub-inspector asked them to record their statement.

Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police S K Pandey said the police have started an investigation in the case on the basis of the victim's dying declaration.

The allegations levelled by the victim's family members against police would also be probed, he said.