A 9-Year-Old's Mysterious Death Has Prompted Outrage Over Rape In India

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/04/ [login to see] /9-year-olds-death-prompts-outrage-over-rape-in-india
The mysterious death of a 9-year-old girl from India's most oppressed caste has horrified her country.

The child went to fetch water Sunday evening from a cooler at a crematorium near her family's New Delhi slum — and never came home. What happened next appears to be either a tragic accident with a bungled response, or the latest in a string of brutal gang rapes that have grabbed international headlines and prompted at least one poll in recent years to rank India as the most dangerous place in the world for women.

The details of this case are sketchy but grim: A Hindu priest who works at the crematorium told the girl's parents and police that the child was accidentally electrocuted when she tried to draw water from a cooler at his facility. But the girl's parents accuse the priest and three other men of raping her, killing her – and quickly cremating her body to destroy evidence of their crime. The priest denies any wrongdoing.

Four suspects have been arrested, including the priest. Police are investigating, but their job is complicated by the fact that there is little physical evidence. It's the family's allegations against the suspects' denials.