GHAZIABAD: A 23-year-old Dalit woman allegedly died by suicide at her room in Loni on Thursday, three days after she was gang-raped by three men who offered her a lift home when she lost her way.The woman, according to her family, was battling psychological problems and was under medication for them. Her body was sent for an autopsy, whose reports were awaited.

Around 7pm on Monday, the woman left her home without informing anyone in the family. She had previously left home in a similar manner, but each time, her family and neighbours had managed to bring her back safely. This time, too, the family started a frantic search for her. After around three hours, they found her 6.5km away near a tubewell in Nithori village.“Her clothes were torn, and she was crying with multiple injuries on her body. She told us she got lost and asked some people for directions. They offered to drop her home on a motorcycle but instead took her to Nithori and raped her one by one. There were three men. We immediately informed the police, following which a medical examination was held,” her father said.For the next couple of days, the woman was admitted to the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) in Delhi. She was discharged on Wednesday afternoon and brought back home. That night, after dinner, she went to sleep. The following morning, her father found her dead.“I knocked on the door for tea, but there was no response. I went away, thinking she needed some more rest. After a few hours, I knocked again for breakfast. She usually took medicine in the morning. So, I insisted that she wake up. When there was no response again, I forced the door open. There she was, motionless,” he added.The woman would usually sleep with her parents. “One room is for my son and daughter-in-law and another remains empty. We didn’t realise when our daughter left our room and went to the other one,” he said.Alleging inaction, the woman’s family staged a protest outside Loni police station earlier on Thursday, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused and their exemplary punishment. The woman’s father also appealed to CM Yogi Adityanath for justice, urging the govt to take decisive action without any delay. “Only this will satisfy my daughter’s soul,” he sobbed.However, late on Thursday evening, two of the accused were arrested after a gunfight with cops. Rohit Kumar (31) and Veer Singh (53), residents of Nithori village, suffered bullet wounds in their legs during the brief gunbattle.DCP (rural) Surendra Nath Tiwari said an FIR had been lodged against the accused under Section 64 (2) (k) (commit rape on a woman suffering from mental or physical disability) of BNS. (The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)