19-Year-Old Rape Survivor Hacked to Death in UP’s Kaushambi

Teenage Rape Survivor Hacked to Death in Broad Daylight in Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi

A 19-year-old rape survivor was brutally murdered in broad daylight on Tuesday morning in Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district. The incident has sparked a political battle between the state’s leading parties, the BJP and the Congress. The victim had allegedly been raped three years ago when she was a minor, and her attackers, two brothers named Ashok and Pawan Nishad, were arrested and imprisoned. However, they recently obtained bail, and were consequently released.

According to the police, the two accused had conspired to coerce the victim into dropping the charges against them. When she refused, the brothers chased her down a road early on Tuesday morning as she was returning from the fields, and hacked her to death with an axe. Despite numerous villagers witnessing the horrifying incident, fear prevented them from intervening. The accused are currently at large.

This incident has ignited a political firestorm in Uttar Pradesh, a state with a questionable track record in preventing crimes against women. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has promised that those perpetrating violence against women will face the wrath of ‘Yamraj,’ the Hindu god of death. However, the Congress party remains skeptical of these grand claims.

The state’s Congress unit shared a post on social media platform X, along with a video from the crime scene, stating, “In Kaushambi, two brutes publicly killed a girl by hacking her with an axe. One criminal had been granted bail just two days ago in a murder case, while the other was accused of raping the same deceased girl.” The post added, “Brutes in UP are so fearless that they have no respect or fear of the law. Our daughters are so unsafe that they may even lose their lives if they dare to raise their voice against dishonor.”

The heinous rape and murder of the 19-year-old victim has not only exposed the failures of the justice system but has also reignited the debate on women’s safety and the need for stricter measures to protect them.