A day after a 30-year-old rape survivor, who was set ablaze by the accused, succumbed to her injuries in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district, a video of the woman blaming the accused while being taken to the hospital has surfaced, police said on Sunday.
“He (prime accused Pradeep Bishnoi) first called me out and then threatened me to withdraw the case. When I refused, he slapped me. Then again when I refused, he poured inflammatory material on me and set me on fire,” the victim is purportedly heard saying in the one-minute and 27-second video.
“We have recovered the video and put that as evidence,” said Praful Kumar, inspector general of police (IGP), Bikaner range.
An official said the video was recorded by a local resident who did not wish to be identified.
According to the police, accused Pradeep Bishnoi, who arrested for raping the victim in 2018, was out on bail.
On March 4, Bishnoi broke into the victim’s house and set her afire. She succumbed to the injuries the next day.
Bishnoi and another person has so far been detained in the case and probe is on to ascertain the role of a few others, an official said. “We are establishing the link between the suspects and the victim. In one of the footages, a picture of one more suspect has been obtained and the role of two more people has surfaced. We are connecting the dots,” said Kumar.
{{/usCountry}}Bishnoi and another person has so far been detained in the case and probe is on to ascertain the role of a few others, an official said. “We are establishing the link between the suspects and the victim. In one of the footages, a picture of one more suspect has been obtained and the role of two more people has surfaced. We are connecting the dots,” said Kumar.
{{/usCountry}}Bishnoi’s father, who was questioned by the police, however, maintains that his son is innocent. “Police should take fair action. It should not happen that an innocent gets punished,” he said.