A teenager from India's northern state of Haryana committed suicide a day after she was gang-raped by eight men.
According to reports, the girl was abducted on Sunday (29) when she was alone at home and taken to a secluded place where she was raped. The 17-year-old's parents were away visiting a relative when the incident happened.
The men came on two bikes and a car and forcibly took her away, the Times of India quoted police officials as saying. They left her outside her house the next morning.
In recent times, there has been an increase in the number of rape cases reported from India. Although there are strict anti-rape laws, sexual violence is still a problem India is trying to deal with.
Just last month, the nation saw widespread outrage following the rape and murder of Asifa, an eight-year-old in Indian-administered Kashmir. The girl was raped and murdered by a group that included policemen and a former government official.
During Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK for the Commonwealth Heads of State meeting last month, the prime minister spoke about the gruesome rape and said it was a matter of shame to the country.
“Every time in our country… it is always the woman who is questioned. The person who is committing these crimes is also someone’s son… The rape of a (daughter) is a matter of worry, a shame for the country,” PM Modi said during an interaction with the Indian community at London’s iconic Central Hall Westminster.
The recent increase in rape cases has resulted in the Narendra Modi government passing an order to make rape of children under 12 punishable by the death penalty. The minimum jail term for rapists whose victims are more than 16 years have been set at 10 years and people convicted of rape of a girl below 16 years will be sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in jail, it has been decided.
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