Sister of 6-year-old rape victim missing since day of the crime

By Ajit Jha
Hathras (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 6 (ANI): A 15-year-old girl has been missing from the house of her maternal aunt in Aligarh from the day her younger sister was raped by their maternal cousin, said Uttar Pradesh administration on Tuesday.
The six-year-old girl died at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi on Sunday, approximately 15 days after being allegedly raped by her maternal cousin in Aligarh. She used to stay with her maternal aunt in Aligarh, while the family belonged to Hathras.
As per JP Singh, Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Hathras, the sisters lost their mother in January, and since then they were sent to their maternal aunt's place to live.
"Since the day of the rape incident, the maternal aunt has ben absconding with the 15-year-old sister. Because the incident happened in Aligarh, the investigation in the case is being done by the police there. Police are searching for the missing girl so that nothing bad happens to her," he said.
He further informed that the incident happened on September 17, and the minor girl died on October 4.
"On September 17, the father (who lives in Hathras) was informed about the incident. He went to Aligarh and took the younger girl to the police station, and from there he took her to Malkan Singh Hospital. The next day she was shifted to a private hospital in Mathura. On September 21, she was shifted to the district hospital in Aligarh. She was referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi on October 4 and taken there on the same day. The girl died in Safdarjung hospital on the same day," he said.
When asked about why the family refused to cremate the girl earlier, the ADM said that family wanted the financial assistance and suspension of Station House Officer (SHO) of Iglas who refused to register the case till September 21.
"Family had a grievance that SHO did not register their case initially. The FIR against the 11-year-old cousin and aunt was registered on September 21 when SP intervened. The Aligarh SP suspended the SHO yesterday. We also promised to provide them with Rs 5 lakh financial assistance," Singh added.
The Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh, which is in national focus following the death of a local teen because of a brutal assault last month, witnessed yet another protest on Tuesday after a six-year-old alleged rape victim died. (ANI)