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Updated: May 24, 2018 23:42 IST

A 16-year-old girl immolated herself after she was allegedly gang-raped by a neighbour and two of his friends in a village in Shivalakala area of Bijnor district on Tuesday night, police said.

Additional superintendent of police, Bijnor, Dinesh Singh said the victim’s neighbour, Tahir, has been arrested and raids were on to nab his friends Sarfaraz and Nasir.

“We are collecting evidences and facts on the basis of the complaint lodged by the girl’s family. All the three accused are major,” the ASP said.

In their complaint to the police, the girl’s family said that she had gone to Tahir’s house to borrow some kitchen utensil. However, Tahir and his friends held her hostage and raped her.

They said the girl returned home and informed her elder sister about the incident. The sister went to Tahir’s house but he and his friends had escaped by then.

In the meantime, the victim immolated herself. She was immediately taken to a private hospital where she succumbed to injuries later in the night.

According to local reports, the girl’s family alleged that the police initially did not pay heed to their complaint and said it was a case of suicide. They eventually registered case against the accused on Wednesday only after the matter was brought to the notice of senior officers.

Tuesday’s assault was the latest case in a string of such crimes against minor girls in Uttar Pradesh over the past month.

Last month, the Union Cabinet approved an ordinance to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 to introduce the death penalty for rape of children younger than 12 years.

The ordinance came after nationwide outrage at the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and the rape of a teenager by BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar in Unnao.