4 years after minor Dalit girl's gangrape in UP, FIR filed as accused uploads assault video online

AGRA: Four years after a 16-year-old Dalit girl from UP's Etah district was allegedly abducted by the son of a former village pradhan while she was returning from school and gangraped by him and his two friends, police have registered an FIR in the matter as the main accused circulated a video of the sexual assault on social media.
Following the crime that happened in May 2019, no FIR was lodged by the girl or her family due to fear of social stigma.The girl, who was studying in class 10 at that time, had to drop out of school and was married off in 2021. The incident came to light last week when her father filed a police complaint stating that the three accused contacted his daughter again and asked her to meet them. Upon refusing their advances, the main accused, the former pradhan's son, uploaded a clip of the assault online, and also shared it with the girl's in-laws.
"After all that happened, my daughter somehow moved on. Now, they are trying to disrupt her married life. Frustrated over this, when I went to the ex-village head's house to complain about his son's wrongdoings, I was humiliated and abused with casteist slurs. They even threatened to kill me if I took legal action. Now that I have filed an FIR, the families of the accused men are pressuring us to withdraw the case. I am worried that we might have to leave the village," said the 45-year-old father, who works as a labourer.
Additional superintendent of police, Dhananjay Singh Kushwaha, said, "On the basis of the complaint received, an FIR has been registered under sections of Pocso Act, SC/ST Act, IT Act, Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act and various other sections of IPC including 376-D (gangrape). The former pradhan's son was arrested on Sunday and sent to jail following court orders. One of his accomplices is already in jail in connection with an attempt to murder case and the third accused is absconding. Efforts are on to nab him."
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)