New Delhi(CNN) A 16-year-old girl has died after her boyfriend allegedly raped and set her on fire near New Delhi, police said Wednesday.
Police say the man, about age 20, barged into the girl's room at 2:30 a.m. Monday.
After raping her, the suspect set her on fire, said Kiran Sivakumar, police superintendent of Noida, a suburb of New Delhi.
The man has been arrested and charged with rape, murder and trespassing. If convicted, he could be executed or jailed for life.
The girl suffered severe burns, Sivakumar said.
"They were in a relationship for over a year," Abhishek Yadav, the chief investigator in the case, told CNN. An investigation is underway to determine why he allegedly set her on fire, Yadav said.
The horrifying assault took place a day before International Women's Day.
"Build a world where... "
To celebrate International Women's Day on March 8, CNN asked you to finish this sentence: "Build a world where I can..." This is what you said.
Indian iReporter
Meera Vijayann wants all of us to remember that we have the power to create a safe environment. "In streets and alleyways across Bangalore, communities are often vulnerable to crimes as they lack the power to report these crimes to the authorities," she says.
Shireen Mitchell has been programming since she was just 10 years old. But even today, in a world where technology continues to infiltrate every facet of our lives, she says people find that hard to believe. For her, perceptions need to change.
Equal access to education is the dream for Texas-based iReporter Scott Baradell.
Australian iReporter Jessica Arvela says: "Throughout my undergraduate and postgraduate study, I have focused on gaining an understanding of the complex social, political, and even environmental forces behind human trafficking; in particular women and children. "
In Nairobi, Kenya, writer and publicist Corrie Mwende wants to build a world where female African leaders are the norm, not the exception. "My hope is that this notion changes and that soon women leaders will be recognized...and respected. A world of equality in all spheres," says Mwende.
"[I decided to run the organization] 'Women Who Tech' because I was tired of seeing so many talented women in tech who run startups overlooked," says Allyson Kapin.
"I've never let my gender dictate my value or my worth," says UK-based iReporter
Myriam Osei. "I know being a female is not a crime, a mistake or an unfortunate situation." However, Osei says not every woman feels that way. And that is exactly why being independent is so important to her.
Kathy Korman Frey is the founder of the
Hot Momma's Project, an online library cataloguing stories of female success in business. She tells iReport that it is essential for women to make a concerted effort to come together in order to succeed.
Rummel Pinera, a Filipino father, has a simple wish for his two daughters -- to be seen as equal members of society. "I want my daughters to grow up in a world that would not limit their opportunities just because of the fact that they're girls," he says.
Stephanie Davies-Arai wants to live in a world where the media equally represent men and women. "I want to live in a society that respects women and girls with a media that celebrates them as full human beings."
iReporter
Raffaella Quieti Cartledge wanted to hear what people on the streets of London really want for women in the future. While taking a stroll in London, Cartledge started chatting with a student named Honey (pictured with her message).
Cartledge also met Anne Marie, an administrator for a London-based retail company. In her experience, she told Cartledge men are valued more highly than their female counterparts at work.
Houston resident and iReporter
Kami Huyse sent in her submission for International Women's Day. In addition to running a consultancy firm, she also serves on the board of directors for Civilination, a not-for-profit that aims to combat cyber-bullying.
Boston-based iReporter
Omekongo Dibinga says that while sexual and domestic violence affect both genders, young girls and women in general suffer at a disproportionate rate. "I want to build a world where no girl or woman has to suffer in silence for any reason," he says.
On Tuesday, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee underscored the need for greater efforts to ensure the safety of women in the South Asian nation, saying, "It is intolerable that in this day and age, women are still being exposed to barbaric brutality and violence because they are women.
"Violence or fear of violence reduces the freedom and development of everyone particularly, our women and children. But more than that, it diminishes our society when it allows such inhuman treatment of its women rather than guarantee their safety, security and equal rights," Mukherjee told an award ceremony marking International Women's Day.
"On this day, let us all, (the) government, civil society and public at large, pledge to work together for developing relevant legal, administrative and other measures to ensure the safety and security of our mothers and sisters."
In 2012, a savage gang-rape of a physiotherapy student on a bus in the Indian capital stirred global outrage and brought focus on the country's attitudes and treatment of women.
The girl whose rape changed a country
India has since toughened its rape laws, with stringent punishments not only for sexual assaults but also for voyeurism and stalking.
The number of rape cases reported in India rose to 36,735 in 2014 -- up some threefold since 2012, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. However, the rise doesn't necessarily mean more women were raped, but rather indicates more cases were reported. Twenty-eight percent of the reported cases turned into convictions, the bureau said.