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Woman Dies After ‘Attempted Rape’ in Himachal; Family, Villagers Block Highway Demanding Justice
A 40-year-old woman from Hamirpur district died days after a brutal assault during an alleged rape attempt. Angry villagers blocked the national highway for three hours, demanding strict action. The protest ended only after CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu assured the family of justice over a phone call.
Hamirpur | November 10 —
A 40-year-old woman from Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur district, who sustained grievous injuries during an alleged rape attempt, died at Chandigarh’s PGI Hospital on Friday night. Her death sparked outrage among locals, leading to a massive protest and highway blockade on Sunday.
The victim’s family and villagers from Jhanyari village placed her body on the Hamirpur–Dharamshala National Highway, about 8 km from Hamirpur town, demanding severe punishment for the 14-year-old accused. The protest continued for nearly three hours, disrupting traffic on the busy route.
It was only after Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu personally called the victim’s family and assured them of justice that the blockade was lifted.
According to police, the horrific incident took place on November 3 in Sasan village. The woman was cutting grass in a nearby field when the accused, a Class 9 student, allegedly attacked her and attempted to sexually assault her. When she resisted, he brutally struck her with a stick and a sickle, leaving her critically injured.
Villagers later found her lying unconscious in the field and rushed her to Hamirpur Medical College, from where she was referred to PGI Chandigarh, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Police said the accused, who has confessed to the crime, has been sent to a juvenile reform home. Investigators recovered a broken pen and a weighing scale from the crime scene and confirmed that the assault was committed with intent to sexually abuse.
The case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, with further investigation underway.
