The Dalit girl was stalked by the Jat men for 20 days.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: In a shocking incident, a 16-year-old Dalit girl from Sangrur district of Punjab committed suicide by setting herself ablaze after she was allegedly harassed sexually by youth of a higher caste.
The girl who died at Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh sustained 70% burns after she set herself on fire after four youth from the Jat community allegedly harassed her.
The family of the girl alleged that the Punjab Police officials declined from registering a case against the youth on Saturday. They were quoted saying that police officials were on VIP duty as Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal was paying a visit to the district on Sunday.
It was only after the judicial magistrate recorded the statement of the girl at the PGIMER that the police finally registered a case.
The suicide note of the girl had the names of the four individuals who harassed her. In the note, she has described the ordeal of having to endure over 20 days of stalking and harassment.
She has even described an incident where a youth allegedly slapped her after she resisted them making a sexist remark. The letter says the youth used to follow the Dalit-girl all the way to her school in Lehrahaha town, 10 KM away from her village.
She has also written that the youth forced her to accept a mobile phone from them so that they can make frequent calls to her.
The police said that the youths were missing since the incident and raids are being conducted to nab them at the earliest.
The girl, who aspired to become a doctor, is the last victim of sexual harassment in India. The police have registered case against the missing individuals of higher caste and charged them for inciting a minor to commit suicide, making indecent gestures and outraging the modesty of a woman under various sections of IPC.