NHRC notice to Tripura govt, state police chief over reports of death of sexual assault victim

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday issued notices to the Tripura government and the state's police chief over reports that a victim of sexual assault was allegedly set on fire by her tormentor resulting in her death in Agartala, officials said. The Commission has issued notices to the state's chief secretary and the director general of police, seeking a detailed report on it in four weeks, including the status of the investigation and any relief granted to the next of kin of the deceased.

The NHRC in a statement said it has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports that the victim of sexual assault, a minor, was set on fire by her tormentor resulting in her death in Agartala district. Reiterating its displeasure towards increasing incidents of sexual assault of women across the country, the Commission has said that it is awaiting reports from all the states, Union Territories and the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development on the matter.

The Commission has observed that though it is not mentioned in the media reports that whether the aggrieved family or the victim had approached the police authorities with their complaint, but the death of a minor girl as a result of a barbaric act done by the accused is a matter of concern for it. According to media reports, carried on December 9, the girl was kidnapped by the accused on October 28 from her residence and was subjected to "sexual abuse". Later, the accused raised a demand of Rs 5 lakh in lieu of solemnising marriage with the victim, the NHRC statement said.

"Some amount of money was reportedly paid by the family and there was a dispute between the family of the victim and the accused for the remaining money. As mentioned in the news reports, the accused and his mother have been arrested by the police after the incident," it said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)