New Delhi: The minor girls were lured to a farm and raped; cops said they were killed once they insisted on marriage.
Six young men have been arrested for the alleged gangrape and murder of two minor Dalit girls in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district.
Their bodies were found hanging from a tree Wednesday evening, sparking much disquiet in the village and anger among political circles in the state and outside.
The accused have been identified as Chhotu, Junaid, Sohail, Hafizul, Karimuddin and Arif, Lakhimpur Kheri Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Suman told reporters on Thursday.
Suman said Junaid was arrested in an encounter during which he was shot in the leg.
The district chief said the accused were friends with the deceased sisters, aged 15 and 17. The girls were lured to a farm and raped by Sohail and Junaid on Wednesday, the officer said. “When they insisted on marriage, Sohail, Hafizul and Junaid strangled and killed them,” Suman said. “They then called Karimuddin and Arif and hanged the girls to eliminate proof,” he added.
The police said all boys, except Chhotu, were from Lalpur village in Lakhimpur Kheri. Chhotu was a neighbour of the girls’ family and introduced the girls to the other boys, they said. “He too has been arrested,” Sanjeev Suman told the media.
Officers said the postmortem of the girls would be conducted by a panel of three doctors. Suman said the case pertains to women and the weaker section of society. “We worked with speed and sensitivity. The accused have been booked under IPC Sections 302, 376 and also under the Protection Of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” the SP said.
On Wednesday evening, the bodies of the two minor sisters were found hanging from a tree in the Lalpur Majra Tamoli Purva village Lakhimpur Kheri district.
Villagers and the girls’ family marched and blocked a road demanding justice for the deceased.
The girls’ family told the police the minors were abducted three hours before they were found hanging. There were no visible injuries on their bodies, the police said.
Also read: SC issues UP government notice on Ashish Mishra’s bail plea in Lakhimpur Kheri case
Source: The Print
