New Delhi residents gathered Thursday around a crematorium where a 9-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered in India.
The girl was sent out to get water from the crematorium not far from her home Sunday, police stated according to Reuters. (RELATED: Teenage Girls Hung From Tree In India Were Raped And Murdered, Police Say)
About 30 minutes later, a suspect confronted the girl’s mother and told her that her daughter died of electrocution. The mother saw bruises on the girl, and the suspects allegedly said that if the family reported the incident to the police, they would have the body sent for an autopsy where the doctors would harvest her organs for the black market, Hindustan Times said.
The girl’s family suspects that there was foul play surrounding her death, police stated.
Angry villagers in New Delhi have held a protest outside a crematorium where they say a 9-year-old girl was raped and killed earlier this week. The case has revived outrage over the number of gruesome sexual crimes against women in India. https://t.co/oM555piQvc
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 5, 2021
The family reportedly knew the suspects, identifying them as Salim, Laxmi Narayan and Kuldeep who were all employees at the crematorium and the fourth man was a priest named Radhey Shyam. They were arrested but were not charged for the crime, Hindustan Times reported.
Protests have been gathering momentum in the capital of New Delhi, with hundreds of people, including students, activists and human rights watchers, gathering near the city’s historic Jantar Mantar monument.https://t.co/kXjwLn9PW8
— Indian American Muslim Council (@IAMCouncil) August 4, 2021
There have been numerous violent sexual assaults against women across India but this alleged incident, which has sparked international outrage, involved a young girl who’s a member of one of India’s most oppressed castes, according to The Associated Press.