The sister of the main accused in Thursday’s case of a rape victim being set on fire in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district has demanded a CBI inquiry into the case.

The woman, who had survived a brutal gangrape earlier in March, was on Thursday assaulted and set ablaze by five men accused in the case in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district when she was on her way to a local court for a hearing on the matter.

The men took her outside her village and into the fields and doused her in petrol before setting her on fire.

The accused’s sister, who wish to remain anonymous, said that her family was being targeted because of a political conspiracy.

“My brother Shubham and my father Hari Shankar are being targeted because my mother is the head of the Kundanpur village Panchayat. I want a CBI inquiry into the case so that the truth is known,” she said.

Shubham and Hari Shankar, along with three other accused persons, have been arrested by the police after the victim named them in her statement.

The sister of the accused said that her brother had earlier been arrested on rape charges which were also false. She said that she sympathised with the victim, but would also fight for her brother and father who have been falsely implicated.

Meanwhile, the victim was brought to Lucknow with 90 per cent burns and later in the evening, she was airlifted to Delhi for treatment in the Safdarjung Hospital.

After being informed by the locals of the gruesome incident, Police rushed to the spot and the woman was admitted to a nearby government hospital earlier in the day, on Thursday.

In her statement to the police, the rape survivor said the five men first hit her on the head and attacked with a knife on the neck. Then they poured kerosene and set her on fire.

The incident has caused tension in the region.

A complaint was lodged on March 4 by the rape victim but it is alleged that the police did not take action on it. Then an FIR was filed in the neighbouring Rae Bareli district reportedly after the intervention of a local court.

The state government has set up a special investigation team to probe the incident.

The National Commission for Women has also sought a report on the incident from Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) OP Singh.