The schoolgirl, from the low caste Dalit community, is being treated for 50 percent burns
NEW DELHI (TrustLaw) - A teenage girl in northern India is fighting for her life in hospital after two youths set her on fire because she resisted their attempts to rape her, the Times of India reported on Wednesday.
The schoolgirl, from the low caste Dalit community, had caught the attention of five youths in her village in India's Uttar Pradesh region who had been passing obscene remarks about her over the past few days, according to the report.
"The miscreants allegedly barged into her house and tried to outrage her modesty. When she resisted, they poured kerosene on her and set her ablaze, her father claimed," the daily newspaper said.
But some local residents alleged the girl, who is in a local hospital near the city of Lucknow being treated for 50 percent burns, may not have been a victim of attempted rape since three of the five youths named in the testimony given by the girl's father to the police were not in the village at the time of the incident.
"We will round up the accused and interrogate them to confirm if there was any disparity in the sequence of events that have been communicated to the police till now at all," Inspector General of Police for Lucknow Zone S.K.Singh was quoted as saying.
Reports of Dalit girls and women being raped or being set on fire are widespread, particularly in India's northwestern belt where tradition and patriarchy not only mean low caste communities are heavily discriminated against, but their women are often victims of sexual violence by higher castes.
Women's rights activists say Dalit women in India are seen as being "easy victims" as their ability to seek legal recourse for crimes committed against them is often absent due to a number of factors such as lack of awareness, education and institutions in rural areas where they can seek advice and gain support.
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