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Villagers block highway, demand justice for Hamirpur woman killed after rape bid
The victim is survived by husband who is a Class 4 employee in a state government’s department and a specially able child who was dependent on her for daily chores
The family members of a 40-year-old woman, who died five days after a rape attempt in Hamirpur, along with local villagers, blocked a national highway on Sunday demanding strict action against the juvenile accused.
Enraged over the incident, the protesters blocked the Hamirpur–Dharamshala national highway by placing the woman’s body on the road and demanded justice for the deceased. After around 4 hours, the villagers agreed to lift the highway blockade after assurance from police and the administration.
The incident took place on November 3 in a village in Hamirpur, following which she was taken to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI), Chandigarh. The victim is survived by husband who is a Class 4 employee in a state government’s department and a specially able child who was dependent on her for daily chores.
According to police, the woman was cutting grass in a nearby field when the boy, a Class 9 student, forcibly grabbed her and tried to sexually assault her. When the woman resisted, he brutally attacked her with a stick and a sickle, seriously injuring her, they added.
The villagers then spotted her lying in the field, bleeding profusely, after which they informed police, who rushed her to Hamirpur Medical College for treatment, from where she was referred to PGI Chandigarh. Police found pieces of a broken pen and a scale at the crime scene. During questioning, the accused confessed to his crime.
The evidence found at the spot suggests that he committed the act with the intention of sexual assault, police said, adding that a case has been registered under relevant sections. They also said that the boy has been apprehended and sent to juvenile home.
CM Sukhu assures victim’s kin of strict action
Meanwhile, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu personally spoke to the family and relatives of the deceased woman on Sunday and assured them of the strictest possible action in the case.
After speaking with the Chief Minister, the woman’s family members and villagers called off their protest. Upon receiving information about the protest on Sunday morning, Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Amarjeet Singh and Superintendent of Police (SP) Bhagat Singh Thakur reached the spot. They facilitated a phone call between Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and the woman’s family.
Deputy commissioner Amarjeet Singh said that the Chief Minister spoke at length with a relative of the woman and assured them of the strictest possible action in the matter. “The Chief Minister has directed the police to conduct a thorough investigation and gather complete information about the accused,” he added.
