An 18-year-old boy and his mother from Uttar Pradesh, India, have both been arrested by police after they allegedly set a 15-year-old pregnant girl on fire who the boy had sexually assaulted.
According to reports from CNN, the girl was allegedly raped by the man, who is said to also be her cousin, three months before the incident in the Mainpuri district. After the sexual assault, the girl became pregnant and both families began discussing whether the two should get married after learning of the pregnancy.
However, on October 6, the boy and his mother reportedly lured the pregnant teen to their house on the pretext that she and the boy would be getting married and then poured kerosene on her, setting her ablaze.
Both accused were subsequently arrested on Monday on suspicion of attempted murder. The girl is now in a hospital receiving treatment. The extent of the teen’s injuries, as well as her current condition and that of the unborn child, is unknown.
Following the violent gang rape of a medical student in Delhi in 2012, legal reforms and harsher rape penalties were implemented. But, violence against women continues to plague the South Asian nation, with many female activists blaming a deeply ingrained misogynistic culture within the society.
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