LUCKNOW :An Indian teenager died after allegedly being set on fire during an attack by four men when she went outside to relieve herself in the country’s east, police said Monday.
The family of the girl, thought to have been 17, has told police she was attacked on Saturday night when she went outside because her home in Uttar Pradesh state - like many in India - does not have a toilet.
The girl was a Dalit (member of a low caste). She had earlier been harassed by the attackers, who were members of her village, for using a mobile phone, which they thought was immoral, a police officer said.
The girl had argued back against the men’s directive to stop using the phone, her family told police.
“The girl’s father has accused [a man called] Mukesh and three others of killing his daughter by setting her on fire when she had gone out to answer nature’s call,” said local police superintendent Akhilesh Chaurasiya.
The girl was taken to hospital but died on Sunday from injuries sustained in the attack in Auraiya village, 160km from the state capital Lucknow.
Chaurasiya said that initial criminal cases have been registered against all four men, who also belong to the Dalit caste. The leader of the group has fled the village, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said last month that India should strive to ensure every household has a toilet within the next four years.
