KANPUR: A 40-year-old woman complainant in a molestation case of 2018, who was attacked along with her sister allegedly by the accused and his aides on January 9, succumbed to her injuries at a government hospital here on Friday. The deceased’s 28-year-old sister is still battling for life in the ICU of a private hospital.

According to police, the victim was a complainant in a case wherein her teenage daughter was allegedly molested by one Mehfooz on the premises of a tannery in the city in 2018. Subsequently, she had lodged an FIR against him at Chakeri police station.

Having been subsequently jailed, the alleged molester was released about a fortnight ago after securing bail.

Police said the woman and her younger sister were attacked with sharp-edged weapons on January 9 allegedly by Mehfooz and his aides Babu Bhai, Jameel, Firoz, Pintu and Wakeel, all residents of the city.

“Going by the preliminary findings, the murderous attack of January 9 was a fallout from an incident wherein the woman, who is now dead, had reprimanded Mehfooz and his aides for spoiling her brother by making him an alcoholic,” said Chakeri SHO Virendra Bahadur.

“The sisters were admitted to a private hospital from where the victim was shifted to LLR Hospital after her condition deteriorated and she died,” said Bahadur.

A complaint was lodged with Chakeri police naming all six with regard to the January 9 incident. Police have arrested four of the accused while search is underway to arrest the other two,” said SSP Anant Deo.

According to the victim’s relatives, Mehfooz and his aides had also been pressurising them to withdraw the molestation complaint. “Whenever we moved out of our homes, the accused would threaten us with dire consequences,” they said.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)