Four men allegedly burnt a 16-year-old to death in Chatra district of Jharkhand on Friday after gangraping her. The accused murdered her after the panchayat of Raja Kendua village imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000 on them for raping her on Thursday.
“After the incident, we approached the village elders who suggested holding a panchayat in the village on Friday morning to decide the punishment,” the girl’s father said, according to the Hindustan Times. “When the panchayat imposed a cash penalty, the accused and his men got infuriated and started thrashing us. We ran away to save our lives.”
“The panchayat was convened to settle the issue when the accused and others thrashed the girl’s parents and set the girl on fire,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Pitamber Singh Kherwar said. “She died on the spot.”
The girl’s father said they found out that his daughter had been burnt alive when they returned home after an hour.
Unidentified family members of the victim said the accused abducted her on Thursday from her cousin’s home, where she had gone to attend a wedding. They gangraped her and then let her go.
The police have launched a search for the accused, Kherwar said.
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