Rape victim dies by suicide in MP's Narsinghpur; family alleges police refused to register complaint

Narsinghpur: A 32-year-old Dalit woman, who was raped allegedly by three men four days ago, died by suicide on Friday in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghpur district, police said. The woman’s family alleged that the police did not register a complaint in the last three days. On Friday, the police arrested three persons, including one of the alleged rapists. Late in the evening, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered that a case be registered against the local police official, and two senior officials be shunted out. The shocking incident, which comes in the wake of Hathras rape-and-murder case, took place in Gadarwara area of the district. On Friday, assistant sub-inspector Mishrilal Kodapa of Gotitoriya police outpost was suspended for laxity in duty, said Gadarwara Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) SR Yadav. “We registered a case today against Arvind and Parsu Choudhary, who belong to the same community as the victim, and another accused Anil Rai for gang-rape,” Yadav informed. “Arvind Choudhary has been arrested and a hunt has been launched for the other two,” he added. The trio allegedly raped the woman on Monday when she was out in a field to cut grass for the cattle. The SDOP, however, said the woman’s two nieces who saw the incident stated that the accused caught hold of her and teased her, but did not confirm that she was raped. When they raised alarm, the accused fled, the two girls told police. The woman and her husband orally complained to the police on the same day but the complaint was not clear, Yadav claimed. On Friday, when the woman went to fetch water from a tap, Leela Bai, another woman, allegedly taunted her, after which the victim went home and hanged herself, the police officer said. Her husband alleged in his complaint that they were trying to get a case registered for the last three days but to no avail. “We have arrested Leela Bai. Besides, Motilal, Arvind’s father too was arrested under IPC section 306 (abetment of suicide) as he had said something insulting to the woman,” Yadav said. “We have registered a case of gang-rape and are investigating further,” he added. Late in the evening, Chief Minister Chouhan directed that a case should be filed against the in-charge of the police outpost who failed to register offence and he should be arrested, said a state government spokesperson. Chouhan also ordered immediate transfer of Narsinghpur additional superintendent of police and Sub Divisional Officer of Police. Crime against women would not be tolerated at any cost, the chief minister was quoted as saying. A collection of working suicide prevention helpline numbers are available here. Please reach out if you or anyone you know is in need of support. The All-India helpline number is: 022 2754 6669​