New Delhi: In yet another gruesome incident of sexual assault, an eight-year-old girl who was raped by 16 men over a span of nearly four years died in Chennai hospital of a ‘prolonged illness’ on Thursday. However, the police are still awaiting the post-mortem report to find out the exact cause of her death. Also Read - Kangana Ranaut Says She Felt 'Raped' at The Hands of BMC And Shiv Sena Because of Emotional Trauma Caused to Her

A case has been registered under CrPC Section 174 (unnatural death). A complaint was also filed in the Villupuram district and a case against the 16 people was filed under the provisions of the POCSO Act. The accused have been remanded in judicial custody. Also Read - Love Jihad in UP: Married Man With 4 Kids Wears Wig To Hide Age & Identity, Lures And Rapes Minor in Meerut

The incident first surfaced in July last year at Tindivanam in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu, when the minor girl’s mother approached the police to lodge a complaint against several of her relatives who had been allegedly raping two of her daughters since 2017. Again on Thursday, the younger daughter complained of stomach pain and entered into the washroom twice at frequent intervals. After she did not come out of there for a long time and did not respond, the mother broke open the door and saw her lying unconscious on the floor. Also Read - After Massive Uproar in Pakistan Over Gang-Rape Case, PM Imran Khan Suggests Chemical Castration & Public Execution For Rapists

She was immediately rushed to a private hospital but the doctors pronounced her dead on arrival. Her deceased body was then sent to a government hospital to conduct a postmortem.

The mother remarried and relocated to Chennai fearing of the daughters’ lives on knowledge of the sexual assaults. The deceased girl wanted to become a police officer when she grew up, the stepfather recalled. The elder daughter, 10-years-old, is currently studying at a private school in Chennai.