A 23-year-old Indian woman who was set on fire in the state of Uttar Pradesh while on her way to the court to handle her rape case died of heart failure.

The woman claimed to have been the victim of a rape in March and was attacked by a group of men on the way to court on Thursday. The perpetrators beat her and then set her on fire.

The victim was initially admitted to a local hospital but later flown to New Delhi. She was burned over 70 percent of her body and died of cardiac arrest, a treating physician reported.

The five men who named the victim in a statement to the police were arrested. These include the two men who were accused by the woman of the rape. An investigation has been opened.

People came to the streets in various Indian cities when the charred body of the woman was found.

The incident further flared the indignation at the rape plague in India. On 27 November a 27-year-old veterinarian was raped and set ablaze in the vicinity of the city of Hyderabad.

When the police took the perpetrators of that crime to the scene of the crime this week for a reconstruction, the four tried to escape. They were then shot by the agents.

According to the latest data from the Indian government, more than 33,000 women and girls were raped in 2017.