Woman Sets Herself On Fire Outside Police Station After Rape-Accused Gets Bail

A 23-year-old woman set herself on fire outside the office of the Senior Superintendent of Police in Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh, after a man she had accused of raping her got anticipatory bail from the court, on Monday, December 16.

When the woman from Hasanganj Kotwali in Lucknow reached the main gate of the district police office in the morning, she was doused in kerosene. After lighting herself, she ran towards the police premises, where the fire was doused by officers, the police said. The woman suffered 70 per cent burns. She was rushed to a district hospital.

The woman had filed a rape complaint on October 2 against a man she was in a relationship with for the last 10 years. After he refused to marry her, she lodged an FIR with the police.

“As per the FIR filed by the complainant on October 2, 2019, at Hasanganj Kotwali police station, the victim, who lives in a locality under the limits of Hasanganj police station of the district, had accused one Awdhesh Singh, with whom she was in a relationship since the past ten years, of sexually exploiting her on the pretext of marrying her, and later backtracking from the same,” The Times Of India quoted Vikrant Veer, Superintendent of Police, Unnao, as saying.

The woman has also accused Awdhesh’s father, brother, sister-in-law, and one of their aide of attempting to kill her on September 30. She accused Awdhesh and family of pressurising her to opt for a compromise before she filed the complaint.

Meanwhile, the woman’s family members claimed that she was under severe depression after the prime accused received anticipatory bail from the court. She had also approached the police station multiple times to ensure the arrest of Singh who had been allegedly threatening her.

Also Read: Unnao Rape Victim Passes Away, Day After Being Set On Fire By Her Alleged Rapists