Girl, 14, fights off gang-rapists only to be burnt to death by the enraged attackers in India

A 14-year-old girl fought off two rapists in India but was burned to death when her attackers became enraged at her resistance.

The middle school student was admitted to hospital in Raipur with burns covering 80 per cent of her body. She told police the identities of her attackers on her deathbed yesterday.

Police said the two accused attacked the teenager when she was just 650ft away from her home, looking after the family goats in a field in the town of Bemetara, Chhatarpur.

They 'tried to force themselves upon her' but the girl 'resisted with all her strength', Bemetara Superintendent of Police Divyang Patel said.

After failing to rape her, the pair - angered at her resistance and fearing she would report them - doused her in kerosene and set her alight.

A 14-year-old Indian girl fought off two rapists but was set on fire after they became angered at her resistance, according to police. Burns covered 80 per cent of the youngster's body when she died yesterday

The accused include another 14-year-old and a 22-year-old man named Sharad Jaiswal, the Times of India reported, adding that the two fled the scene leaving the girl engulfed in flames.

'The two accused have been taken into custody and their interrogation was underway. Further action will be taken accordingly,' Patel said.

It wasn't until her parents returned home that they found her unconscious in the field with seared skin from the blaze.

The family rushed her to hospital in Raipur but medical staff were unable to save her from the burns which covered 80 per cent of her body.

Earlier this month, the raped body of a four-year-old girl was dumped in a well after she was raped and murdered in the same city of Chhatarpur.

There were some 40,000 rapes reported in India in 2016, according to the most recent official figures available.

Indians protest against rape and sexual violence in December following the case of a 27-year-old vet who was gang-raped and murdered in Hyderabad

In 2018, the Indian government buckled under public pressure and approved capital punishment for repeat offenders and for individuals who rape children under the age of 12.

Activists claim the 40,000 number is just the tip of the iceberg as many victims are afraid to report the crimes due to threats by perpetrators or the social stigma attached to sexual assaults.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, a string of violent sex attacks prompted outrage and nationwide protests.