Madhya Pradesh: Girl, raped and set on fire, dies at hospital

A 15-year-old girl, who was gang-raped in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh seven days ago and set on fire, today succumbed at a hospital, police said.
The girl died at the Bundelkhand Medical College and Hospital where she was undergoing treatment, district superintendent of police S Shukla told PTI.
The SP said both the accused in the case had been apprehended within 24 hours of the crime.
A case under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder), 376 (d) (gang-rape) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act was registered against them, he said. Now the section 307 would be replaced by section 302 (murder), Shukla said.

The girl was raped at Deval village, 100 km from the district headquarters, on the night of December 7.
Sarvesh Sen (21) and another person, a minor, entered the girl's house when she was asleep and raped her, police said.

When she cried for help, the accused poured kerosene kept in the house on her and set her on fire.
The girl had lost her father some years ago. Her mother had gone to visit the girl's maternal grandmother who lives on the outskirts of the village while the girl's grandfather, who is very old and deaf, was sleeping outside the house when the incident took place.

As per the National Crime Records Bureau's report, the highest number of rape cases in the country were registered in Madhya Pradesh in 2016.
Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Ajay Singh hit out at the BJP government in the state, saying the death came at a time when chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was being felicitated in the state capital.
Girls were unsafe and lawlessness was rampant in the state, the Congress leader said.
The state BJP this evening feted Chouhan for introducing a bill providing for death penalty for the rape of a girl who is below 12 years of age.