Unnao rape survivor critical, suffered 90% burns, say doctors; govt scrambles into action, CM Adityanath seeks report on incident by evening

The 23-year-old Unnao rape survivor, who was set ablaze by a group of men on Thursday morning, has sustained 90 percent burns and her condition is “very serious", doctors attending to her told PTI. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed senior police and state administration officials to visit the spot and submit a report by the evening. He also directed officials that the woman be given the best possible treatment. [caption id=“attachment_7742771” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The police arrested all the five accused of raping and burning the woman in Unnao. ANI[/caption] “I have suggested that the girl be shifted to Safdarjung hospital in Delhi for better treatment,” civil hospital director Dr DS Negi told The Times of India. “She is in a restless and irritate state at the moment due to pain and her burn injuries. We are trying our best to manage the pain with antibiotics and sedatives. This is a crucial time for her survival,” said Dr Pradeep Tiwari, under whose case she has been put at the hospital. Preparations are on to airlift the survivor to the Safdarjung Hospital, media reports said. “The chief minister has directed the divisional commissioner and IG, Lucknow zone, to visit the spot and submit a report to him by the evening,” said Additional Chief Secretary, Information and Home Department, Awanish Awasthi. National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognizance of the case and wrote to Uttar Pradesh DGP OP Singh seeking a report on action taken at the earliest, India Today reported. The woman, who was raped in December last year, was on her way to a court in Rae Bareli when she was attacked. The victim has said that she was going to Baiswara Bihar railway station. “The condition of the girl who was set on fire and bought here at 10 am is very serious. She has 90 percent burn injuries and we are taking utmost care. A team of doctors are observing her,” Dr Ashutosh Dubey, medical superintendent of the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Hospital in Lucknow, told PTI. All the five men who allegedly set her on fire have been arrested. In her statement to the police, the rape survivor said the men first hit her on the head and attacked with a knife on the neck. As she slumped, they poured petrol and set her on fire, Hindustan Times reported. Reportedly, after being set ablaze, she ran for a while before eyewitnesses saw her and informed police, which sent her to the Community Health Centre. From there, she was sent to the district hospital before being referred to Lucknow, police said. The five men arrested on charges of the assault on her life while she was on her way to a court in Rae Bareli on Thursday are Harishankar Trivedi, Ram Kishore Trivedi, Umesh Bajpai, Shivam and Shubham Trivedi, Circle Officer Gaurav Tripathi said in Unnao. According to the officials, the survivor was allegedly raped in March and had filed a complaint, but the accused Shivam and Shibham were later granted bail. Responding to the brutal incident, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra upped the ante against Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and accused them of lying about the law and order situation in the state.

कल देश के गृह मंत्री और उत्तर प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री ने साफ-साफ झूठ बोला कि यूपी की क़ानून व्यवस्था अच्छी हो चुकी।

हर रोज ऐसी घटनाओं को देखकर मन में रोष होता है। भाजपा नेताओं को भी अब फर्जी प्रचार से बाहर निकलना चाहिए।https://t.co/XGqvqu7Dxd

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) December 5, 2019

Expressing shock over the incident, NCP MP Majeed Memon said that the rape survivor sustained 80 percent burns and was struggling for life. “She had made two complaints against the threat of rape earlier yet we could not protect her. Pathetic,” the NCP leader tweeted.

Rape survivor in Unnao with 80% burn is struggling for life. She had made two complaints against the threat of rape earlier yet we couldnot protect her. Pathetic.

— Majeed Memon (@advmajeedmemon) December 5, 2019

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A week ago, a charred body of 26-year-old doctor was found near toll booth on the outskirts of Hyderabad under Shadnagar Police Station limits. After the investigation, it was revealed that the victim was gang-raped by four men, who offered to help her repair her punctured two-wheeler, before burning her alive. With inputs from PTI