Uttarakhand: Investigation begins in tribal woman's gangrape case

Pithoragarh, Dec 9 (PTI) An investigation has begun into the alleged gangrape of a woman from the Vanraji tribal community in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand and her death two days later.

According to reports quoting social workers, the 32-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by some people in a car while on the evening of November 23 and left unconscious on the roadside.

Her villagers brought her home where she died after remaining unconscious for two days, after which the villagers cremated her on the banks of the Kali river the same day.

Circle officer Parvez Ali said investigation into the case started as soon as the case came to light.

"We came to know about the case through local newspapers. Initial investigations revealed that the woman died at her house... on November 25 and the villagers cremated her the same day. However, the allegations of rape were made 15 days after her death," he said.

No police complaint or FIR has been lodged in connection with the case so far, Ali said.

Even the police teams sent to the village have not yet come across anyone who saw the crime being committed or the victim lying unconscious on the roadside, the official said.

"The body of the woman is not available for medical examination and despite this, it is being presented as an incident of alleged rape," he said.

Renu Thakur, director of the NGO 'Arpan', which has been working among the Vanraji community for the last 30 years, said the people of this tribe are shy and due to this, they may not have gone to police.

"The Vanraji tribe is a shy tribe and they do not interact with non-Vanrajis. Even if someone saw a crime being committed, he would have been scared of going to police," she said.

Vanrajis live in the forests of Uttarakhand. They used to live in caves earlier. They are gradually starting to adopt the lifestyle of others in the area but still maintain a distance from them. Their population is also shrinking and the people of this tribe are left only in nine villages of Dharchula and Munsiyari blocks, Thakur said. PTI ALM ALM MNK MNK