An unnamed 14-year-old in Delhi of the Dalit caste has died, after the man who was jailed for allegedly raping her was released on bail. This is the second case in the last week of a Dalit woman being assaulted repeatedly by a past attacker.
The 14-year-old reported her first kidnapping and rape in December. The suspect was released and allegedly captured her again in May. In June, she was admitted to the hospital and her parents told police that her attacker had forced her to drink chemicals. She died on Sunday.
CNN also reported the case of the other Dalit woman, who was abducted and gang-raped in 2013. On July 13, she was grabbed by a group of five men and says that at least two of them were from the original group to assault her. She says in both cases she was held and drugged for an extended period of time. This time, she was found unconscious in the bushes of a park in Rohtak. Her case from 2013 was dropped after her family received death threats; they allege that they were offered bribes but refused.
Dalit women are of the lowest “untouchable” caste in India, and several men in the gang-rape case were identified as from a higher caste. Protests in the area staged by women and supporters of the victims are frequent. Though some laws regarding sexual assault in India have changed, many feel that they’re not applied equitably and not much has changed for Dalit women. CNN reports:
According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau, more than four Dalit women are raped every day, with 2014 statistics saying crime against Dalits rose 19%. In many of the cases, these crimes are committed by perpetrators from an upper caste.