A teenage girl has been raped in a suspected case of “retaliatory justice” in India’s eastern state of Jharkhand, according to police.
The 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped after villagers accused her brother of assaulting another woman, reports the BBC.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the attack, including the village leader who is accused of ordering the rape as a method of “eye-for-an-eye” justice.
The alleged crime comes amid burgeoning recognition in India that sexual violence has reached crisis proportions since the gang rape and murder of a female student aboard a private bus in the capital New Delhi in 2012. Four of the attackers in that case were sentenced to death, and the Indian government has since enacted several reforms designed to curb violence against women.
In the most recent attack, the head of a remote village in Jharkhand allegedly gave the order to have the teenager raped after her brother committed “misbehavior” toward another woman. The girl was taken to a hospital and has made a police statement, reports the BBC.
“This rape happened out of retaliation,” Jharkhand police chief Rajiv Kumar told the BBC.
[BBC]
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