A 19-year-old Indian woman has died in an hospital in New Delhi, weeks after authorities said she was raped by a group of men.
Her death which occurred on Tuesday September 29, 2020, has triggered protests and strong opposition criticisms over what was said to be a failure to protect women.
About 300 protesters from the Bhim Army, a party championing the rights of Dalits, entered the hospital building and shouted slogans near the mortuary where the woman’s body was kept.
“We will take the matter to fast-track court for the faster investigation and collection of evidence,” district authorities in Hathras said in a statement.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a leader of the opposition Congress party, said on Twitter that “There is next to no protection for women. Criminals are openly committing crimes.”
Indian authorities said, “The 19-year-old victim, belonging to the Dalit community – formerly known as ‘untouchables’ – was attacked and raped on September 14 at a field near her home in Hathras district, 100km (62-mile) from New Delhi.”
“On Monday, the woman was brought from a hospital in Uttar Pradesh state to New Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, where she died while undergoing treatment,” authorities said.
They added that police had arrested four men in connection with the crime.
