A 23-year-old woman in Karnataka’s Yadgir district died on Monday after suffering burn injuries sustained while resisting a rape attempt. The victim had suffered 95 per cent burn injuries.
The accused, Gangappa Basappa Arolalli (25), and the victim resided in the same village. According to police sources, Gangappa tried to have an affair with the woman for some time but she had rejected his proposal on a number of occasions. In the wee hours of Monday, Gangappa entered the house of the victim while she was asleep and tried to rape her. When the woman put up a resistance, the accused went out and collected petrol from his bike and poured it on the victim. Gangappa fled from the spot after setting the woman ablaze.
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The woman was shifted to the district hospital in Kalaburgi around 9 am on Monday but succumbed to her injuries later in the evening. Questions have been raised as to why the woman was taken to a hospital several hours after the assault took place.
Surapura police station have registered a case in the incident and arrested Gangappa. A senior police officer said, “Gangappa married a woman six months ago and was living in the same village.”
The woman has recorded a dying statement, the police officer added.
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He said that even earlier the woman had accused Gangappa of harassing her and the panchayat held several meetings to arrive at a ‘compromise’ between the two families. “If the police were informed then, I think this incident would not have taken place,” he added.
After the news of the woman’s death spread, several Dalit organisations staged protests in the district. The victim belonged to the Scheduled Caste community, while the perpetrator is from a Scheduled Tribe group.
The accused, Gangappa Basappa Arolalli (25), and the victim resided in the same village. 
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