UP girl raped, face branded with iron rod after rejecting marriage proposal

A 17-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri was held hostage for three days, raped, and her face was branded with a hot iron rod by a man who was miffed over his marriage proposal being turned down by her.

On April 19, the 21-year-old man forcibly took the girl to his home while she was returning from a show. He held her captive there for three days and abused her, according to the complaint.

“I went to the shop to buy goods on April 19. He took me to his house and did wrong things to me. Then he burnt my face with a rod and wrote his name, while his sister and mother were holding me. I kept shouting, but no one came to save us,” the survivor told India Today TV.

She somehow managed to escape captivity and returned home on April 21.

Following a complaint filed by the girl's mother, an FIR was registered, and the accused has been arrested and sent to jail today, police told news agency PTI.

Initially, the case was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 343 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 504 (intentional insult), and Section 376 (rape) and provisions under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) were added later.