A teenage girl in India defended herself against her rapist uncle by cutting off his penis with a knife. And local police are praising her for her courage.
Police in the Madhepura district of Bihar said the young woman, believed to be aged either 17 or 18, had already been raped last month by her uncle, who is known in the local area as a tantric and who performs rituals.
According to the Bihar Police crime statistics, 478 reported rapes occurred in the first five months of this year, with 130 rapes in May alone.
Initial reports from the Times of India stated the uncle of the girl was a tantric healer and that she was taken to see him when she became ill.
Claiming the girl was possessed by an evil spirit, he the proceeded to gag and rape her. But police later told the Independent that there was no attempt to “cure her” — it was just rape.
When he allegedly tried to assault her a second time, the young woman was prepared and had armed herself with a knife and a recording device.
She recorded a conversation between them, sliced off his penis and managed to escape.
The girl then reported what had happened to a village council. But when the council failed to tackle the matter to her satisfaction, the young woman contacted local women police officers.
Senior officer AK Singh, superintendent at the Alam Nagar police station, located around 200 miles east of the state capital, Patna, told The Independent that the alleged attacker had fled after the incident and that officers were looking for him. Minus a penis.
Asked whether any charges had been filed against the young woman, he replied: “Why should we file a case against her? We should applaud her bravery and courage.”
Many took to Twitter to praise the young woman for defending herself.
India Rape Protests
(01 of11)
Open Image ModalAn activist places a candle on a pavement during a candle lit vigil to protest against the gang rape of two teenage girls, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 31, 2014. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) (credit:AP)
(02 of11)
Open Image ModalIndian activists from the Social Unity Center of India (SUCI) shout slogans against the state government during a protest against the alleged rape of a schoolgirl by three teenage boys in Kolkata on June 2, 2014. (DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(03 of11)
Open Image ModalA police dog sits by the tree where two teenage girls were found hanging after they were gang raped in Katra village in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh state, Saturday, May 31, 2014. (AP Photo/Rajeev Pal) (credit:AP)
(04 of11)
Open Image ModalActivists of various student and youth organizations walk while shouting slogans as they protest against a rise in violence against women in the country and West Bengal state, particularly in Kolkata, India, Monday, June 2, 2014. (AP Photo/ Bikas Das) (credit:AP)
(05 of11)
Open Image ModalBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) women workers raise slogans and burn an effigy of Akhilesh Yadav, chief minister of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, during a protest against the gang rape of two teenage girls, in Allahabad, India, Saturday, May 31, 2014. (AP Photo/ Rajesh Kumar Singh) (credit:AP)
(06 of11)
Open Image ModalActivists hold placards to protest against the gang rape of two teenage girls, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 31, 2014. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) (credit:AP)
(07 of11)
Open Image ModalAll India DYO and All India MSS workers protest, blocked college street against the rape of tribal girls, students of class-6 at Chambura Village Birbhum Districts, on June 2, 2014 in Kolkata, India. (Photo By Subhankar Chakraborty/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(08 of11)
Open Image ModalBJP workers protest against state government outside Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's office, slamming the poor law and order situation in the state in view of the horrific Badaun gang-rape case, on June 2, 2014 in Lucknow, India. (Deepak Gupta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(09 of11)
Open Image ModalIndian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demonstrators are hit by water cannon as they stand behind a police barricade during a protest against the recent gang-rape and murder of two girls, in Lucknow on June 2, 2014. (STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(10 of11)
Open Image ModalActivists from The All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) and Indian Students Union shout slogans in front of Uttar Pradesh Bhawan in New Delhi on May 31, 2014, against the gang-rape and death of two teenage girls in Budaun district, India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh. (RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(11 of11)
Open Image ModalIndian sctivists from the Social Unity Center of India (SUCI) shout slogans against the state government during a protest against the alleged rape of a schoolgirl by three teenage boys in Kolkata on June 2, 2014. (DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)