Teen rape survivor’s baby in critical condition after home ‘burned down by rapists’

Minor Dalit girl whose home was burned down was raped last year by five men and forced to deliver a child

File photo: Indian social activists uses their mobile light as they take part in a solidarity rally protesting over a rape case in Unnao in front of India Gate monument in 2019 (AFP via Getty Images)

A six-month old infant born to a teenage rape survivor is battling for his life after a mob comprising those accused of gang-raping the teen torched her family home once they were out on bail, police in India say.

The incident took place at a village in Unnao in India’s Uttar Pradesh state and has affected a family from the Dalit community – historically among the most oppressed in the Hindu caste system.

Two of the five accused of gang-raping the girl, who had recently managed to get out of jail, went to the minor’s home along with the teenager’s uncle on Monday and set it on fire, police officials said.

Inside the house was the girl’s six-month-old son and her infant sister – both of whom suffered burn injuries in the attack.

The infants were initially being treated at a district hospital in Kanpur city, about 20km away from Unnao.

After their condition worsened, however, doctors referred the two to King George’s Medical University in state capital Lucknow, about 90km away, on Wednesday night.

The teenager’s child – born prematurely after the gang-rape – has suffered severe burns on his stomach, face and limbs.

“The doctors have asked us to arrange blood for the baby as his condition deteriorated overnight in the ICU,” the survivor’s father told The Independent over a phone call.

“We need to arrange Rs 5,000 (£48.9) to save the child but our house has been burnt down and we do not have a single penny to arrange blood. The situation is very grim,” he said.

“I don’t know how I will save them when they are battling for their life,” he said.

The father says he was also assaulted by an axe last week by one of the rape accused. “I have not recovered from my injuries,” he said.

He says his daughter also suffered injuries from the attack.

The rape survivor’s mother had filed a complaint with the police on Monday night in a First Information Report – the first step before police action is taken in India – that said the house was torched by seven men.

The rape survivor’s father alleged that the family had been threatened to withdraw the case or face consequences.

“The threats have continued from the time the case was filed against the accused and there was pressure on us to withdraw the case. They threatened to kill my daughter as well,” he said.

Police officials confirmed they are investigating the role played by the rape survivor’s own uncle in the burning down of their home.

“In the video shared with us, it is clearly visible that the girl’s uncle... started the fire. Upon further investigation, it is found that he is a family member and the minor’s uncle,” said Siddharth, a police superintendent who goes by a single name.

On Thursday, the police arrested a total of four accused out of the seven, including the rape survivor’s uncle and grandfather.

A police investigation revealed the teen’s immediate family was battling a land and house dispute with her uncle and grandfather.

The family say the teenager was raped by a group of five men last February, out of which only three were arrested. The girl had delivered her baby prematurely in September.

Several rape cases have been reported in Unnao, where the local administration is run by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In a harrowing case from 2017, a former BJP state assembly member from Unnao, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, was accused of raping a 17-year-old teenager girl and was found guilty of rape two years later.

The case had gained prominence in April 2018 when the teen had attempted to immolate herself to protest police inaction.

A day later, her father – who brought the case to police on her behalf – was beaten up by a group of men that allegedly included Sengar’s brother and died from his injuries in hospital.

In 2019, the teenager was travelling with her lawyer and two female relatives when their car was involved in a head-on collision with a truck – killing the relatives.