The bodies of two teenage girls, who were found hanging from a tree, have been discovered in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The remains were reportedly discovered by police in the Lakhimpur district on Wednesday afternoon.
After hearing the family’s allegations of kidnapping and rape, an investigation was launched.
There are six males in custody for alleged rape and murder.
According to authorities, a postmortem examination has been requested for the bodies.
Both girls were under the age of 18 and were members of the Dalit caste, which is at the very bottom of the Hindu caste system.
A case involving the gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district in 2020 prompted public outrage, highlighting how vulnerable Dalit women were, despite constitutional protections afforded to the caste.
The victim of a tragic assault, whose body was cremated without a proper farewell
Similar to the other instance, this one has sparked demonstrations from locals and political opponents.
The girls’ family refuted the police’s claim that they knew the suspect and instead blamed him for their daughter’s disappearance.
The girl’s mother reportedly told local media that two men on motorcycles had abducted her daughters. She claims that she was attacked when she tried to stop them.
Members of the family went hunting for the children and allegedly located them later that day, hanging from a tree.
According to Sanjeev Suman, chief of police in the district, the girls were transported to a sugarcane field where they were raped and then killed by strangulation.
Accused “hung their bodies from the tree to make it look like suicide,” Mr. Suman reportedly said, as reported by NDTV television.
Police said they apprehended one of the suspects after a shootout with him after a “encounter” as he attempted to flee.
Local media reported that when police went to the girls’ home on Wednesday night, they were met with some resistance from residents who had joined the family in protest.
The Dalit population has a high level of mistrust for law enforcement. Following the attack in Hathras, locals blamed authorities for being indifferent and for supporting the upper caste suspects. Some members of the victim’s family also claimed that they were not given the opportunity to say their final goodbyes before her cremation.
It is well documented that women and Dalits have been subjected to violence in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which has a population of over 200 million.
Critics argue that crimes against women in India are not decreasing despite widespread publicity of the issue and the passage of stricter anti-rape legislation.
As a result of the sisters’ deaths, criticism has been directed towards Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has been accused by opposition politicians of leading a lawless regime.
“It’s quite deplorable that the Yogi government’s thugs routinely harass women of reproductive age. The government should launch an investigation, and those responsible should be punished severely “Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav took to Twitter to express his views.
Despite the government’s efforts, Mayawati, leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party, claims that criminals in Uttar Pradesh are unafraid.
Congress party member Priyanka Gandhi lashed out at Mr. Adityanath, saying, “providing bogus advertisements in newspapers and TV does not enhance peace and order.”
Why, she wondered, were horrific atrocities against women rising in UP.
Mahnur is MS(development Studies)Student at NUST University, completed BS Hons in Eng Literature. Content Writer, Policy analyst, Climate Change specialist, Teacher, HR Recruiter.
