Abducted, raped, murdered, says mother after Dalit teens found hanging from tree in Lakhimpur Kheri

Uttar Pradesh, Sept 15 :The mother of two Dalit teenage girls, who were found hanging on a tree in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri, alleged that her daughters were raped and murdered. Their mother told the police that teenagers were abducted by men on motorcycles, were raped and their bodies were hung on a tree. Police have taken the accused into custody after the mother of the victims filed an FIR.

As per the FIR, the main accused, Chotu, along with his friends barged into the house of the victims and forcefully took them on a motorbike. The accused also thrashed their mother, raped the two sisters and hung their bodies on a tree, the FIR said.

Two Dalit teenage sisters were found hanging from a tree in a sugarcane field located about a kilometre away from their house in Nighasan police station limits here on Wednesday. The villagers held a demonstration at Nighasan Cross to protest the killings.

An FIR has been filed under sections 302,323,452,376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

However, police said that both the sisters went with the accused willingly. According to the police, the girls were being pressured to marry two of the accused who, along with four of their accomplices, raped and murdered them.

Opposition leaders have slammed the Uttar Pradesh government after two Dalit teenage sisters were found hanging from a tree under the Nighasan police station limits of Lakhimpur Kheri district.

2 minor sisters found hanging from tree in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri, accused in police custody

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over ‘increasing’ crimes against women in the state and compared the twin deaths with the Hathras gang-rape and murder.

Terming the incident as a ‘heinous repetition of Hathras’, Akhilesh Yadav said, “Murder of two Dalit sisters after kidnapping them in Nighasan police station area. Their father’s allegation on the police is very serious that they carried out ‘panchnama’ and post-mortem without the family’s consent. After farmers in Lakhimpur, the killing of Dalits is now a repetition of the murder of ‘Hathras’ daughter’.” (sic)

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also took to Twitter to condemn the incident.

Minor Dalit girl gang-raped, set on fire in UP’s Pilibhit, 2 arrested

“The killings of the two sisters in Lakhimpur is heartbreaking. Family says the girls were abducted in broad daylight. Law and order in the state doesn’t improve by giving false advertisements in newspapers and TV everyday. After all, why are heinous crimes against women increasing in Uttar Pradesh? When will the government wake up?”

Former UP Chief Minister and Bahujan Samajwadi Party chief Mayawati also hit out at the Yogi government over the incident.

She tweeted, “The condemnation of such sad and shameful incidents will also be less. Criminals in UP are fearless because the priorities of the government are wrong.”

“This incident strongly exposes the claims of the government in the matter of law and order and women’s safety etc. in UP. In most of the cases, including that of Hathras, crimes are being covered up as most of the criminals are fearless. The UP government should make necessary reforms in its policy, methodology and priorities,” she said in another tweet.

Police have filed an FIR in the case under relevant sections of the IPC and Posco Act and the accused are in police custody.

-PTI