by Rachel Ogbu

India is struck again by another rape scandal as a 16-year-old Indian girl attempted to set herself on fire after a neighbour allegedly raped her in northern India.

The nation is still facing the brutal reality of an ugly trend following the gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in the Indian capital, New Delhi, on December 16, which sparked widespread outrage and demands for tighter laws against the sexual abuse of women.

The girl’s family allege she was lured by a neighbour into his car and raped, in the northern state of Haryana.

She tried to commit suicide afterwards but was left with burns covering more than 90 per cent of her body and is in critical condition in hospital.