Patna, 1 June

A girl, who was battling for life after being raped in Bihar's Muzaffarpur recently, died at a state-run hospital on Sunday, police said.

The minor was raped on 26 May in her village in Muzaffarpur and brought to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) on Saturday in a critical condition, an official said.

The rape victim, referred to PMCH, was left waiting in an ambulance for several hours on Saturday, allegedly due to the unavailability of a hospital bed, state Congress president Rajesh Ram alleged. A purported video of the incident had gone viral on social media, exposing the "insensitivity of the government and the hospital administration, he claimed.

PTI couldn’t independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Ram was present at the PMCH along with the party's media cell Bihar in-charge Rajesh Rathore on Saturday.

"The girl died this morning. Her throat and chest were brutally slashed by the accused. He had also attempted to kill her by slitting her throat. Her vocal chords were damaged and she was unable to speak. The accused was arrested," a police officer said.

The state Congress chief on Sunday claimed, "It is a heart-wrenching incident and an insult to our state, headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar."

He alleged, "The victim died as the law and order and the health system in the state have collapsed. The NDA government in the state and the PMCH administration are solely responsible for the death of the girl. The incident has exposed the insensitivity of the government, the CM and the PMCH."

Rathore said the survivor had been referred to PMCH from Muzaffarpur and her family members reached the state-run hospital at 11 am on Saturday.

"It took the hospital administration more than four hours to provide her a bed, and she was finally admitted there after 3 pm. She was admitted after our intervention. The girl succumbed to her injuries on Sunday morning," the Congress leader claimed.

Despite repeated attempts, Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey could not be reached for comments on the allegations.

The accused lured the minor on the pretext of offering chocolate near her aunt's house and took her to a maize field. He raped the girl there, the police said.