Rajasthan: Dalit woman raped, set afire in Barmer succumbs to burn injuries

Barmer (Rajasthan) [India], April 8 : A Dalit woman who was allegedly raped and set on fire in Rajasthan's Barmer district on Thursday, succumbed to burn injuries at Jaipur's Mahatma Gandhi Hospital on Saturday, police said.
The incident occurred on Thursday in an area under Pachpadra police station limits, Barmer district. The main accused has been identified as Shakoor and has been arrested, police said.
Soon after the incident, a political uproar was seen in Rajasthan as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader lashed out at the Ashok Gehlot government.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, Rajendra Rathod condemned the incident and termed it as a blot on the face of the Ashok Gehlot government of Rajasthan.
"This is not the first incident. A case like Nirbhaya takes shape at one place or the other every week in Rajasthan. In the Balotra incident, the victim remained in the hospital for 24 hours and the FIR was registered after people protested against them," he said.
He further said, "This incident is a blot on the face of the government. For the third time in a row, Rajasthan remained at the first position in rape of women, according to NCR statistics."
Meanwhile, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Sekhawat also hit out at the government and said women are not safe under Ashok Gehlot's government.
"This is not a new incident in Rajasthan. A Dalit woman was raped in the daylight by a Muslim man who later tried to burn the woman alive," he said.
"The woman was immediately admitted to a hospital where there is no burn unit. She was referred to Jodhpur after 24 hours and she died there due to lack of treatment. Women are not safe under the Ashok Gehlot government," Sekhawat said.
Union Minister and Member of Parliament from Barmer, Kailash Chaudhary also reached Mahatma Gandhi Hospital and met the family members.
"Action should be taken against wicked people. Such people should be hanged. We are with the victim's family," he said.
Raising questions on the functioning of the police, he said, "Jungle Raj has taken place in Rajasthan. Such incidents cannot happen without the instigation of the government of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot."
"The relatives have demanded compensation of Rs one crore and a government job. The demands of the relatives should also be fulfilled and the family should get justice," he added.
Notably, a case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the police said.