Out on bail, accused kills rape survivor before Pocso court hearing in Azamgarh

Varanasi: A rape survivor was allegedly poisoned to death by the accused, who was out on bail, just before the final hearing in the case at a Pocso court in Azamgarh. Ahraula police station in-charge Amit Kumar Mishra said on Thursday that the accused was arrested near the Baramdapur Puliya Mandir area for killing the rape survivor by mixing a poisonous substance in her cold drink. Dileep Kumar (32) from Para Phulwariya village was accused of raping a 16-year-old girl, who's now 18, back in 2023. A case was registered under various sections of the IPC and Pocso Act. A chargesheet was filed in the same year. Kumar was granted bail three months after the case was registered. The case had several hearings and was nearing its conclusion. Due to Holi holiday, the final hearing was rescheduled for Friday. In his complaint, the deceased's father had reported her missing since Wednesday night. She was found dumped in front of their house early Thursday and died soon after. A cold drink bottle and a poisonous substance bottle were found at the accused's place, leading the family to suspect foul play. Police collected evidence and sent the body for a postmortem.