Outrage, protests as teen dies after sexual assault

A Dalit teenager allegedly raped by four upper caste men died of her injuries yesterday, sparking outrage from activists, politicians and Bollywood stars.
The 19-year-old woman was brutally assaulted in Uttar Pradesh on September 14, according to a complaint filed by the family with police.
The four accused have been arrested, according to the authorities.
Found lying in a pool of blood and paralysed from injuries to her neck and spine, the woman was rushed to a local hospital before being brought to New Delhi on Monday as her condition worsened.
“She died during the course of treatment on Tuesday morning. We will ensure swift investigation and trial in the case,” Hathras district police chief Vikrant Vir said.
Hundreds of protesters gathered inside the hospital premises yesterday, where they jostled with police and briefly blocked traffic on a main thoroughfare.
Activists from the Bhim Army, a party championing Dalit rights, chanted slogans near the Safdarjung Hospital’s mortuary, where the woman’s body was kept.
Dozens of paramilitary troops were deployed nearby as evening fell. Bhim Army leader Chandra Shekhar Aazad asked Dalits across the country to take to the streets, and demanded the culprits be hanged.
“We can’t take this anymore, we want justice,” he tweeted.
District authorities in Hathras said the matter would be taken to a fast-track court to hasten the investigation.
The news comes months after four men were hanged for the brutal gang rape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi in 2012 - a case which came to symbolise the nation’s problem with sexual violence, gaining worldwide notoriety and being turned into a Netflix TV show.
Bollywood personalities, cricket stars and women’s rights activists took to social media to condemn this month’s attack.
“Sad, sad day. How much longer can this be allowed to go on,” wrote director-producer Farhan Akhtar.
“What happened in #Hathras is inhumane and goes beyond cruelty. Hope the culprits of this heinous crime will be brought to justice,” cricket megastar Virat Kohli tweeted.
Activist Kavita Krishnan said the attack reflected the “larger picture of structural violence” against Dalit women.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi blamed the assault on the deteriorating law-and-order situation in Uttar Pradesh, which is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. “There is next to no protection for women. Criminals are openly committing crimes,” Gandhi said on Twitter.
Uttar Pradesh ranks as the least safe state for women in the country.