Kanpur woman beaten to death by men accused of molesting her teen daughter in 2018; 8 out of 11 accused arrested so far

A 40-year-old Kanpur woman was beaten to death allegedly by men who were facing trial for molesting her 13-year-old daughter in 2018. OP Singh, UP DGP confirmed to CNN-New18, that 11 people were accused of attacking the women and so far 8 of them have been arrested. The clarification came after initial reports suggested that only four were involved in the assault that led to the woman’s death, and left one other injured. The woman, also a witness in the molestation case, was hospitalized after the accused men stormed into her house on 9 January and attacked her with sharp-edged weapons. The woman and her sister were injured and admitted to a hospital on the same night. NDTV  reported that the woman passed away at the Lala Lajpat Rai hospital (locally still known by its colonial name, Hallett Hospital) one week after the assault, on Friday. According to New18, the deceased woman had filed a complaint against one Mahfooz for allegedly molesting her daughter two years ago at a tannery in the Chakeri area, following which the man along with five others was booked under section 354 of the IPC (sexual assault of children) and sent to jail. At least six accused - Abid, Mintu, Mahboob, Chaand Babu, Jameel and Firoz — barged into the woman’s house demanding that the family withdraws the molestation case, NDTV reported.  “The incident took place in Chakeri area. The accused in the molestation case of 2018 was out on bail. There was a dispute between the accused and the victim’s family while the accused were drinking liquor. The accused along with other people attacked the two witnesses of the molestation case,” Kanpur SSP Anant Dev Tiwari told ANI. The SSP said, “In the attack, a woman was seriously injured and was admitted to the hospital. After spending over a week in the hospital, she succumbed to her injuries on Friday.” Further investigation is underway, he added. A journalist with The Hindu newspaper tweeted a video, which shows four men beating up two women. The video, which appears to be shot from a terrace, shows a group of three-four men beating up some people, and a woman in a red kurta is seeing lying, motionless on the floor as one of the men stomps her. Firstpost could not independently verify the video, but Uttar Pradesh Police did acknowledge it with a response and said the matter was under investigation.

This is not the first brutal attack where molestation or rape accused have tried to intimidate and silence the survivors and their families. Just last month, an 18-year-old rape survivor  was set ablaze in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur by the accused rapists. A similar incident was reported from Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao, where another woman was burnt to death by her alleged rapists while she was on her way to a court in Raebareli. The victim had suffered 90 percent burns and was referred to Delhi after a brief treatment at Civil Hospital in Lucknow. With inputs from agencies