(Independent) A rape survivor has killed herself after she was forced to marry her alleged rapist in Haryana, India.
The 19-year-old, who has remained unnamed, was married for seven months before taking her own life after apparently being subjected to a campaign of physical and mental torture by her in-laws.
The mother of the victim claimed her daughter had even been hanged after her death and that her in-laws had been harassing her to pay their legal expenses from the initial rape case.
“She was subjected to physical and mental torture. They had an altercation on Monday as well,” said Sunil Kumar of the Jagadhri City Police, the Times of India reported.
An intervention from a panchayat, a local self-government organisation used at village or small town level, forced the two to get married after the initial rape was reported.
The alleged rapist, named only as Anuj, offered to marry the rape survivor, then a minor, as part of a deal with the panchayat after his arrest in Jagadhri in the Yamunanagar district.
After the couple were married, the woman deposed in Anuj’s favour, which resulted in him being cleared of all charges.
