A 9-year-old Indian girl's mysterious death has caused people across the country to protest against vile acts of rape as the family of the victim accused a priest of raping and cremating the young girl to hide the evidence of his criminal activity.

The victim's family said the 9-year-old went out to fetch water on Sunday evening from a cooler found at a nearby crematorium in the New Delhi slum and never came home. What happened to the child may either be a tragic accident or the latest incident of the growing cases of brutal gang rapes in the country that have become international news which has led the country to be ranked as the most dangerous place in the world for women.

9-Year-Old Girl Raped and Murdered

Authorities said that a Hindu priest is being accused of perpetrating the young girl's death after forcibly raping her. The religious leader who works at the crematorium told officials that the young girl may have been accidentally electrocuted while trying to get water from his facility's cooler.

However, the victim's parents argue that the priest and three other suspects are responsible for the murder of their daughter. They claim that the group raped the young girl and immediately cremated her body to hide their crime. When questioned, the priest denied any of the allegations, NPR reported.

Protesters gathered in large crowds in the capital of the country after the first news of the child's murder was released. The demonstrators included hundreds of people and involved students, activists, and human rights watchers, who decried the crime near the city's historic Jantar Mantar monument.

Read Also: Joe Biden's New Eviction Moratorium Faces Legality Doubt Amid Pressure as COVID-19 Delta Variant Cases Spike

While outlawed by the country's Constitution, caste prejudice continues to be prevalent in Hindu-majority India. People have once again become outraged by the violence perpetrated against those at the bottom of the hereditary social hierarchy.

Yogita Bhayana, the founder of the women's rights group People Against Rapes in India, said the brutality conducted during the young girl's murder was barbaric. She noted that the worst part of the incident was that it was a very common occurrence in the country. Dalit women are frequently killed, raped, and tortured, with nearly a daily case report, NBC News reported.

Crimes Against the Lowest Class

A 2018 report by the National Crime Records Bureau revealed that there were 42,793 cases of crimes against Dalits last year. The number of citizens in the lowest caste of India number around 200 million out of the country's 1.3 billion population. The numbers constitute to around a Dalit being the target of crime every 15 minutes on average.

But many activists argue that the actual number is much higher as many of the incidents are kept from public knowledge. They said that Dalit women are further marginalized, owing to the social stigma that victims of sexual violence face.

Srishty Ranjan, a 24-year-old Dalit rights activist, said the country was seeing a level of "rape apathy" because the incidents were so common in India. She noted a Dalit is the most frequent victim of the crimes and does not get enough coverage from the media, Yahoo News reported.

Related Article: Missing Arkansas Mom Found Wrapped in Old Newspaper, Hidden at Daughter's Home for Months; Suspect Spends Benefit Money