15-year-old rape victim kills self; father alleges police refused to register complaint

A 15-year-old rape victim committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone district after the police allegedly refused to register the complaint, the victim's father has claimed.

According to the victim's father, his daughter was abducted and raped by Bachu Sukhram Bundela, a resident of the Ashapur village. After the incident, when he and his daughter went to the Kakadda police post and subsequently to Maheshwar police station, the police refused to lodge their complaint and instead questioned the character of his daughter.

The police have refuted the allegation leveled by the father, with Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Shashikant Kankane saying that "a woman police officer had gone for investigation in connection with the rape incident. The victim was asked to come to the police station to report but she did not."

"We have registered the case, and the accused (Bundela) has been arrested," he added.

Kankane said that the woman had consumed pesticide and died during treatment at the district hospital.