Four charged with rape, murder of nine-year-old girl in India

Authored by channelnewsasia.com and submitted by haikallp

NEW DELHI: A priest and three other men have been charged with the gang rape and murder of a low-caste nine-year-old girl, Indian police said, in a case that sparked days of protests in New Delhi.

The girl was allegedly assaulted by the priest, 53, and three workers on Aug 1 after she had gone to a crematorium to fetch water.

The four men, who have been in custody since they were detained in early August, face the death penalty.

The girl's mother earlier told police that the men had called her to the crematorium and claimed that her daughter had been electrocuted.

They told her that if she reported the incident to police, doctors conducting an autopsy would remove her child's organs and sell them.

Her daughter's body was then cremated, before some locals intervened and pulled some charred remains from the pyre.

The 400-page charge sheet from Delhi Police cited "scientific, technical and other evidence" and witness testimony, the government said in a statement late on Saturday (Aug 28).

It added that its push for charges to be laid within 30 days of the alleged incident reflected its "zero tolerance" of crimes against women and girls in the nation of 1.3 billion people.

AdClemson on August 29th, 2021 at 13:26 UTC »

One important thing to remember is that this girl belonged to the Dalit class which is considered as 'untouchable' by other higher class Hindus. These Dalit people have been on the receiving end of such atrocities with no justice for a long long time.

8Bells on August 29th, 2021 at 13:21 UTC »

The fact that murder was seen as the most convenient way to cover up their crime here.

They claimed shed been electrocuted and literally told her mother not to bother with an autopsy or police as theyd desecrate her daughters body by "selling her organs". (If thats not projection, or the peak of irony...)

The assault also conveniently happened at a crematorium so they just popped her in the oven. Literally passer bys figured out this wasnt right and pulled her remains out before the job was done so there was some evidence collection in the end.

The girl was sent to get water.

One of the people who assualted her was allegedly a priest.

Guard1an_Angel0 on August 29th, 2021 at 12:22 UTC »

I've seen hundreds of stories like this over the years but every time they sicken me to my core. I hope those bastards rot in hell