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Father of 13-year-old rape survivor run over by truck in Kanpur
A truck hit the father when he stepped out of the health centre in Ghatampur for a cup of tea, Kanpur deputy inspector general of police Preetinder Singh said.
The father of a 13-year-old gang rape survivor died in Kanpur on Wednesday after being hit by a truck outside a health centre where the girl was undergoing medical examination. The incident occurred a day after the father pressed gang-rape charges against the son of a local police officer and his friends.
In an FIR filed by the brother of the deceased on Wednesday, the family alleged that the incident was orchestrated by the accused. They also alleged that the police was initially reluctant to file a gang-rape complaint and that they made the survivor undergo medical examination five times.
“They were not given any protection. We want stern action against those police officers, their tactics broke my brother in a matter of hours, and he is not with us as a result,” said the survivor’s uncle.
Superintendent of police (rural) Brijesh Srivastava said the allegations were being looked into.
A truck hit the father when he stepped out of the health centre in Ghatampur for a cup of tea, Kanpur deputy inspector general of police Preetinder Singh said. He was rushed to the Lala Lajpat Rai hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, Singh added. The truck driver was yet to be traced.
“The incident is tragic and it will be investigated by a team headed by an ASP-rank officer,” said Srivastava.
On Tuesday morning, the father told police that three men dragged her minor daughter into the fields while she went out to collect fodder and raped her. The gang-rape allegedly occurred on Monday evening.
The accused were identified as Golu Yadav, Deepak Yadav and Saurabh Yadav. Golu was arrested but Deepak — the son of a sub-inspector — and Saurabh were absconding, officials said. Five teams have been formed to track the accused.
The family said shortly after the gang-rape complaint was filed on Tuesday, the accused assaulted the father and were pressuring him to withdraw the case filed under Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act. Police said Saurabh also threatened the minor of dire consequences if she told anyone about the incident.
“When my brother was coming to the police station, the accused Deepak Yadav and others accosted and assaulted him,” the uncle said. “They threatened him with dire consequences for pursuing the case,” he added.
The family said the police was reluctant from the beginning to register a complaint and sent the minor girl for medical examination five times in a span of eight hours. She was examined twice at the local health centre, twice at the community health centre in Ghatampur and once at the hospital in Kanpur, some 70 km from her village.
The girl and her father left for Ghatampur around 11pm on Tuesday for the fifth medical examination. They remained at the CHC the entire night as the doctor was not available.
“All these points would be covered in the inquiry that would be conducted by additional superintendent of police level officer,” said a police officer on condition of anonymity.
Protests erupted after the death of the father on Wednesday. In a statement, the district administration said the family will be given ₹5 lakh from the chief minister’s relief fund.
In 2019, UP reported the most number of crimes against women, roughly one every 10 minutes, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Experts say that uneven law enforcement, feudal attitudes and lack of education contribute to the lack of safety for women.
