Dalit child gang-raped by a priest and 3 others, then murdered in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A nine-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly gangraped and murdered then cremated without her family's consent by a priest and three others.

The crime has triggered outrage among the public and sparked a political controversy in the midst of a heated parliament session.

The henious crime took place on August 1 around 5.30 pm while the minor victim went to a nearby to a crematorium to get drinking water from a cooler installed at the crematorium.

The victim's father said that they normally got water from the crematorium's water cooler and on August 1, around 5.30 pm after they returned home from the dargah he ordered his daughter to get some water for her mother, as he had to go buy veggies.

The nine -year-old went to the get drinking water from a cooler and never returned.

Later, all the accused who are well known to the girl's mother, called her up to the crematorium and showed her daughter's corpse.

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Girl's mother said, "I went in and saw my kid lying there, dead." “Her lips were torn, her tongue was blue, her wouldn't close and her left arm was bruised. Her undies and shirt were wet. I couldn't stand looking at her.”

According to police, the accused told the victim's mother that she was electrocuted to death and also frightened the family off from informing the police about the incident.

The accused has been identified  as--Radhey Shyam (55), priest of the crematorium, Lakshmi Narayan (43), Kuldeep (63) and Salim (49).

All accused have been arrested and charged with gangrape, murder under sections 302, 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Cod (IPC) in addition to relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the SC/ST Act.

According to police, nearly 200 villagers turned up at the crematorium on Sunday night and protested until Monday evening, demanding justice for the minor girl.

They also demanded strictest punishment for the priest and other three accused.

The crime scene investigation team and forensic experts, according to police, have collected evidence from the crematorium for furtherinvestigation.

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