UP woman who accused MP of rape and immolated self near Supreme Court dies
The victim had recorded a Facebook Live video and alleged that the police in Varanasi, where she had filed a case against BSP MP Atul Rai, alleged that senior IPS officers and a judge from Uttar Pradesh were colluding with the accused.
FollowA 24-year-old woman from eastern Uttar Pradesh who set herself on fire along with the man outside the Supreme Court on August 16 accusing BSP parliamentarian Atul Rai of rape in 2019, died in a Delhi hospital.
The male friend, a 27-year-old Delhi University graduate, had died during treatment on Saturday.
The victim had recorded a Facebook Live video and alleged that the police in Varanasi, where she had filed a case against BSP MP Atul Rai, alleged that senior IPS officers and a judge from Uttar Pradesh were colluding with the accused. The two said that they are setting themselves on fire expecting no justice.
The woman had suffered 85% burns in the immolation bid while the 27-year-old man had suffered 65% burns, news agency PTI had reported. Both were admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.
Atul Rai had surrendered in June 2019 and has been in jail since.
According to a report on Hindustan Times, in her complaint to the police, the woman alleged that Rai called her to his house to meet his wife on March 5, 2019, but she claimed he allegedly forced himself on her when she reached there. She also accused the MP of recording the act and allegedly using it to blackmail and threaten her against approaching police.
Meanwhile, last November, Rai’s brother, Pawan Kumar, lodged a complaint in Varanasi against the woman for allegedly forging documents. Earlier this month, a court issued a non-bailable warrant against her after the police reportedly told the court that she was untraceable.
Last week, after reports of the couple’s self-immolation, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) police had suspended two policemen, Varanasi Cantt SHO Rakesh Singh and sub-inspector Girija Shankar Yadav, and initiated departmental action against them for deficiencies in another case which the woman had alleged was filed to harass her.
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