India: Teenaged rape victim commits suicide in Chhattisgarh

Korba, Sep 1 (PTI) A 16-year-old rape victim allegedly committed suicide in Chhattisgarh's Korba district, a police official said on Sunday.

The girl hanged herself on Saturday in the bathroom of a hotel room where she was staying after appearing before members of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), he said.

The teenager, a native of a small village in Korba, left her home in June this year without informing anyone and went to neighbouring Bilaspur district.

After nearly two months, she was rescued by police from Darri area of Korba on August 9, the official said.

On reaching home, she told her parents that she was allegedly raped by an auto-rickshaw driver, identified as Yan Khan, in Bilaspur in June-July, the official said.

The girl's parents subsequently lodged an FIR against the accused at Shyang police station, he said.

On Friday, the girl along with her father came to Korba to appear before the NCPCR members at the collectorate office in connection with the incident, he said.

After appearing before the child rights panel, the girl and her father went to stay at a hotel in Korba as the police wanted to take her to Bilaspur on Saturday to trace the location of the accused and to examine the place where she was allegedly raped, the official said.

However, on Saturday morning, the girl went inside the bathroom of her hotel room and did not come out.

"Later, the police personnel broke open the door and allegedly found her hanging from a ventilation window in the bathroom with a 'dupatta' (long scarf)," he said.

The girl was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared her brought dead, he said.

No suicide note was found at the spot, the official said, adding a case was registered and probe was underway to ascertain what prompted her to take the extreme step.