15-year-old Indian girl dies after being raped, set on fire

In this Tuesday, March 8, 2016, file photo, policemen sit near a house where a 15-year-old girl was set on fire after being raped at Tigri village, near Noida, a suburb of New Delhi, India. Police on Wednesday said that the girl who was raped and set on fire this week has died in the New Delhi hospital where she was being treated for severe burns. AP FILE PHOTO

NEW DELHI — A 15-year-old girl who was raped and set on fire this week died Wednesday in the New Delhi hospital where she had been undergoing treatment for severe burns, police said.

Police have arrested a 20-year-old man and charged him with raping and burning the girl to death Monday in a village outside of 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 percent of her body. She succumbed to her burns early Wednesday, said Uttar Pradesh state police constable Yadram Singh.

READ: Police say 15-year-old raped, set on fire outside New Delhi

The girl’s family said the man had been stalking her for several months. Her father had filed a police complaint against the man and police had issued a warning to him last year.

The man was charged Tuesday with several offenses, including rape and attempted murder. Since the girl has died, the attempted murder charge will be changed to murder, Singh said.

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 aboard a New Delhi bus.

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