A teenaged Dalit girl committed suicide by setting herself afire in Gwalior on Wednesday evening. She was allegedly raped by three youths.

Police said the 15-year-old victim hailed from Utila in rural area of the district. She poured kerosene on herself and set herself ablaze at

her house. She received 80% burns and was rushed to the Kamla Raja Hospital where she later died.

The incident has come close on the heels of a similar suicide by a woman in Raisen who had been raped earlier this week. In the latest incident in Gwalior, the victim’s father said his daughter was raped by three youths belonging to the same village.

Police sources said the girl had been taken away by some youths living in the neighbourhood, on false pretext on Tuesday and tried to persuade her to marry one of them.

They allegedly kept her confined and threatened to defame her in the town. The victim was kept confined throughout the night. She returned home the next morning and confided in the mother. Later she set locked self in a room in her house and set herself ablaze.

The deceased’s father said his daughter was raped by three youths, Manish, 18, and two other minors, and this compelled her to take the extreme step. Two of the three accused have been arrested.

Additional SP Raghuvansh Bhadoria said the victim had spent time away from home a day before incident and was scolded by kin after which she committed suicide.

Police have registered a case of rape against three youths for abduction, rape and illegal confinement. (The names of the victim and two of the accused have not been mentioned to protect their identities as they are minors)

Lives lost to rape
*A 35-year-old woman was allegedly abducted and gang raped by unidentified jeep-borne persons when she was going back to her home in Raisen on October 9. She later committed suicide by setting herself afire.

*A 14-year-old girl was raped by seven persons in Datia earlier this month. The accused had shot a video clip and circulated the MMS in the town.

*A two-and-a-half-year-old baby girl was raped by three youths in Ratlam on October 2. The accused were identified as Somesh, Lokendra and Naresh. One of them was victim’s relative.

*A teenaged girl who was missing from her home was later found murdered in Bhopal on October 1. The victim was raped and then kill