Meerut: In a shocking case of crime against women in Uttar Pradesh (UP), a woman in her late 20s was first sold by her father and aunt for Rs 10,000, gang-raped by her ‘keeper’ and his friends, and then turned away by the police when she approached them for help. The traumatized woman set herself on fire last month and is now battling for her life with 80% burns at a private hospital in Delhi.

Hailing from Hapur, the woman was allegedly sold after her husband’s death. The man who bought her had taken loans from several people and in return sent the woman as domestic help to his friends’ houses where she was repeatedly harassed and raped.

On Sunday, Hapur SP Yashveer Singh said that an FIR has been lodged against 14 persons under the sections of rape and a probe has been set up in the matter.

Given the gravity of her plight, the Delhi Commission for Women’s (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal has also taken up her case and wrote a letter to the UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath seeking justice for her.

“The Delhi Commission for Women is in receipt of a representation from a survivor of gang-rape belonging to Hapur. The survivor has suffered unimaginable harassment at the hands of the UP Police in Hapur who have refused to register an FIR despite repeated complaints. This insensitivity and shameful conduct of the UP Police compelled the survivor to immolate herself. She is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Delhi,” read the letter sent by the DCW chairperson.

The letter further read that the survivor was allegedly sold for Rs 10,000 to a Hapur resident. “That person had borrowed money from several people and in return the survivor was forced to work as domestic help at the houses of these persons without any remuneration. Here, she was subjected to continuous harassment and gang-rape.”

The woman alleged that she approached police officers at the station as well as the Hapur superintendent of police, but they refused to register her complaint, let alone take any action against the accused persons, read the letter. She then tried to self-immolate on April 28.

Expressing shock over the handling of the ‘grievous’ matter, Maliwal asked the UP CM to release adequate compensation and take necessary steps for her rehabilitation. Maliwal also called for an inquiry into the role of the Hapur police in the case.

“We have received a complaint against at least 14 persons and a probe has been set up,” said Rajesh Kumar Bharti, station house officer, Babugarh police station.

In a video of the woman with burn injuries, which is being circulated on the social media, ther survivor can be seen saying, “I was gang-raped by five men and after they threatened me, I approached the police. Despite this, the police did not take any action and pushed the matter under the carpet by taking money. Since the police did not take any action, I was forced to take this step.”

