Woman accuses Lucknow hospital doctors, staff of raping her mother; victim dies later

Amethi (UP): A woman here has alleged that her 40-year-old mother was beaten up and raped by doctors and medical staff at a Lucknow hospital from where she was discharged a day before her death. Family members of the deceased said she died on the night of June 12 while being taken to another hospital in the state capital.

The daughter alleged she approached Union minister Smriti Irani, who was on a visit to Amethi, on Saturday as the police refused to pay any heed to her. Amethi District Magistrate Arun Kumar has constituted a team on Irani's instructions to probe the allegations.

The woman said her mother was admitted to the Amethi Joint District Hospital, Gauriganj, on June 6 as she was unwell, but her condition deteriorated, and she was referred to the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow the next day.

She alleged that her mother was initially kept in the emergency ward of the Lucknow hospital and then shifted to a bed on the fourth floor but no family members were allowed to visit her.

The daughter claimed that when she finally was allowed to meet her mother after repeated requests, she found out her condition was critical. She alleged that her mother told her she was beaten up and raped by doctors and staff. A spokesperson of the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Sansthan, however, refuted the allegations.

"No such allegation of rape of a woman has been reported and no complaint has been received. If there is a complaint, an inquiry will be conducted, he said.

UP: Minor girl found dead; rape suspected

An 11-year-old girl was found dead in the district with police on Sunday suspecting that she was raped before being murdered. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rohit Singh Sajawan said that the girl, a student of class 6, had on Saturday around 8.00 am gone to the family's fields on a cycle to look after crops.

In the evening, her cycle and clothes were found around 800 metres from her house, he said.

Police suspect that she was killed with a sharp-edged weapon after being raped. Late on Saturday night, police took six persons in custody in this connection and are interrogating them. Family members of the girl said that she used to go the fields to look after the crops as her father is no more.

The farm from where her body was recovered was filled with water, as a result her clothes were smeared with mud, and there was a head injury.

Superintendent of Police (Rural) Rajkumar Agarwal suspected that some acquaintance might have committed the crime and in order to hide her identity she must have been killed after being raped.