A 36-year-old Dalit woman requested permission to be euthanized after claiming she was brutally gang-raped by three men in India.
The anonymous victim, from a village near Puranpur in the Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh, wrote to Indian President Droupadi Murmu following the alleged sexual offense which took place on May 14.
She claims she was attacked by a man called Mohammad Azim, 35, and two of his colleagues, who allegedly gave her a drink laced with a sedative that made her unable to defend herself.
Azim, an electrician and repairman, was known to the victim and had allegedly used this familiarity to gain her trust.
Now he is asking the authorities for permission to end his life, the Indian Times reports. It is unclear the extent of the injuries he suffered in the attack.
The victim is unlikely to receive permission, as Indian law only allows passive euthanasia or “right to die” by withdrawing life support from critically ill patients with no hope of recovery.
Sexual crimes remain a serious concern in India, where the country sees alarmingly high rates of sexual violence (Activists protest in New Delhi against the rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl in 2021)
The survivor reportedly approached the local police station to file a complaint in the days following the alleged attack, but her request was initially rejected.
Only after she submitted a written complaint to Superintendent of Police Avinash Pandey was a first information report (FIR) lodged on May 24, ten days after she claimed to have been attacked.
After the FIR, a medical examination was carried out, but the survivor fears that the delay of more than ten days will make the results inconclusive, according to the Times of India.
The victim also criticized the police for charging the accused under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with rape, instead of Section 376D, which specifically addresses gang rape.
Sexual crimes remain a serious concern in India, where the country records alarmingly high rates of sexual violence.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 28,046 rape cases were reported across India in 2020, an average of 77 rape cases per day that year.
In 2021, this figure rose to 31,677 cases.
Dalit women, in particular, are disproportionately affected due to their marginalized social status in India, often facing discrimination and violence with little recourse to justice.
Despite several legal reforms, many survivors face significant barriers in the justice system, including delayed investigations, insensitive handling of cases by authorities, and social stigma.
