India: 14-year-old dies after being repeatedly raped by a donor at Hyderabad orphanage

A 14-year-old girl, who was repeatedly raped by a man at her orphanage in Hyderabad, in the Indian state of Telangana, died while undergoing treatment on August 12.

Three persons, including a woman who ran the orphanage, were arrested in July in connection with the rape, according to Indian media reports.

According to the police, the child was repeatedly raped by Venu Gopal, a donor to the orphanage, as a result of which she started suffering from health problems, local news outlets reported. The sexual abuse took place after she was given juice laced with sedatives, news outlets reported.

She was living at the Maruti Orphanage from 2015, when her uncle admitted her there following the death of her parents. She returned to her cousin’s house in the New Bowenpally area in the city of Secunderabad when the lockdown was declared in March.

Reportedly, at her cousin’s house she was unusually quiet and later started showing difficulty walking.

The teenager’s relatives took her to a hospital, where the doctor confirmed that she was sexually abused.

The relatives later approached the Bowenpally police who booked a case and transferred the case to the Ameenpur police station.

According to Indian media reports, the police later arrested Venu Gopal, orphanage warder Vijaya and her brother Jayadeep.

The relatives then admitted her to a home for girls from where she was taken to Niloufer Hospital, Hyderabad in the last week of July.

With her condition deteriorating, she was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit and had been kept on a ventilator. She supposedly succumbed in the early hours of Wednesday.

The police said the girl’s body was handed over to her relatives after autopsy for last rites.