WARNING: This story contains graphic information. Discretion is advised.
NEW DELHI – A 15-year-old Indian girl who was raped and set on fire this week died Wednesday in the New Delhi hospital where she was being treated for severe burns, police said.
Police have arrested a 20-year-old man and charged him with raping and burning the girl Monday in a village outside New Delhi, one of several recently reported cases of rapes of women or children in India.
Following the attack, the girl was taken to the hospital with burns over 95 per cent of her body. She succumbed early Wednesday, said Uttar Pradesh state police constable Yadram Singh.
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The girl’s family said the man had been stalking her for several months. Her father had filed a police complaint and police issued a warning to him last year.
The man was charged Tuesday with several offences, including rape and attempted murder. Since the girl has died, the attempted murder charge will be changed to murder, Singh said.
The man’s family denied the accusation of rape and said the two were having a consensual relationship. They did not comment on the girl’s burns.
Police said an investigation is continuing into the incident.
The recent reports of rapes of women or children in India highlight the persistence of such violence despite a public outcry three years ago that led to stronger laws against sexual assault following the fatal gang rape of a young woman on a New Delhi bus.
WATCH: 16×9’s full story on the “failings” of India’s justice system following the 2012 gang rape and murder of Jyoti Singh