A minor girl in Bihar consumed poison after a panchayat refused to take due cognisance of her alleged rape, failed to suggest a legal remedy and ignored her prayer that she was not willing to strike any demeaning monetary compromise with the accused.

The girl, an orphan who lives with relatives in Araria district, kept crying that she would rather die than settle for any deal and appealed to the panchayat to reconsider its decision. When nobody listened to her, she gulped pesticide.

Her relatives rushed her to a primary health centre where she was given preliminary treatment and referred to the district hospital. She is now out of danger.

The incident occurred in a village under Raniganj police station in Araria, around 320km northeast of state capital Patna, on Saturday.

According to villagers, the girl had been in a relationship with a 24-year-old youth, who sexually exploited her but later refused to marry her.

The girl informed her family members, who took up the matter with the local panchayat. A meeting of the panchayat was convened on Thursday and the youth agreed to marry the girl. However, a day later, he allegedly went back on his word.

A panchayat meeting was called again on Saturday at which the youth’s family was ordered to pay Rs 3.5 lakh as compensation to the girl, who was allegedly told not to pursue the matter further.

The girl did not accept the money, saying she wanted to live with dignity instead of arriving at such a compromise. She kept appealing to the panchayat to direct the youth to marry her as soon as she turned an adult. She consumed pesticide when her pleas went unheard.

Raniganj station house officer (SHO) Kaushal Kumar came to know about the incident and asked the girl and her family to come to the police station on Sunday.

“They came but refused to register an FIR. I assured the girl that a complaint by her would allow the police to take action against the youth who allegedly exploited her, but she also refused to do so. She is of slight build and could be either 16 or 17 or even an adult. She was not carrying her Aadhaar card,” Kumar told The Telegraph on Sunday.

The girl and her relatives said she was 16.

The SHO said his investigation had revealed that the matter was “an outcome of a relationship in which the youth had backtracked after assuring the girl of marriage. Sexual exploitation of a minor or an adult on the pretext of marriage is a crime, but it is very difficult for the police to proceed further if the alleged victim refuses to register an FIR.”

Kumar said the police were keeping a watch on the situation and the girl was always welcome to lodge a complaint.