Lakhimpur Kheri: In Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district, 15 September 2022
Source The Print Times of India
Police claim two of the accused raped the teens, strangled them after they 'demanded marriage' & hung their bodies from trees to 'destroy evidence'. Kin says the girls didn't know the accused.
Lakhimpur Kheri: In Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district, two teenage Dalit sisters — aged 17 and 15 — were allegedly abducted from their home by three men and raped by at least two of the youths, found hanging from a tree about two kilometres from their house in Tambolin Purwa village, outside a village in Nighasan area of UP's Lakhimpur Kheri district Wednesday
"Accused have been identified as Chotu, Junaid, Sohail, Hafizul, Karimuddin and Arif. Junaid has been nabbed in an encounter that ensued where he was shot in his leg," the Lakhimpur SP said.
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In the post-mortem reports of the two girls, which ThePrint has accessed, the cause of death has been mentioned as “asphyxia as a result of antemortem strangulation”.
the police said, the girls had recently been introduced to the three accused by a fellow villager named Chhotu, who is known to the family.
The girls’ inconsolable mother said the incident took place around 3 pm Wednesday when she was inside the house. “Chhotu had called three young men from the neighbouring Lalpur village, all of whom I can identify by face. The three pulled my daughters onto the motorbike they were riding and sped away. I tried to chase them for a few meters but fell down,” she said.
She further alleged that before she fell down and lost consciousness, she saw two of the accused “gag” her elder daughter and pull her away, while the third carried her younger daughter on his shoulder.
When she regained consciousness, she started searching for her girls who were then discovered hanging from a tree at around 5 pm.
An FIR has been lodged against Suhail, Junaid, Hafizur Rehman and Chhotu on a complaint from the girl’s mother under IPC sections 302 (punishment for murder), 376 (punishment for rape), 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and sections 3 and 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
All four accused were arrested Wednesday
“The trio was identified are known to Chhotu, who introduced them to the girls. Suhail and Hafizul Rehman Junaid were arrested Thursday morning after a shootout, during which he was shot in the leg.
The confessions of the accused before the police are not admissible in court.
“Yesterday, the trio had reached the village and coaxed the girls into coming with them. They were first taken to the field where they established sexual relations with them without their consent. The girls then asked the accused to marry them and were adamant in their demands. Angered by this, the youths admitted to having strangulated the women with their dupattas. Then, two others — Kareemuddin and Arif — were called to the spot by the accused. The five youths then together hanged the women from the tree in a bid to destroy evidence,” said SP Suman.
Alok Pathak @pathakalok68 सड़क सबकी है सड़क रोकना कानून का उल्लंघन है ये बात आईपीएस महोदय तो लखीमपुर की जनता को समझा रहे हैं पर मालिक जिस दलित की बेटीयों की लाश पेड़ से लटकी मिली जिसको सुरक्षा देने मे आपकी पुलिस नाकामयाब रही उसके दर्द को कब समझेंगे ये आईपीएस महोदय @rohini_sgh
Local villagers and the girls' family on Wednesday lodged a protest as they marched and blocked the road demanding justice for the victims.
The family of the deceased has accused three men of rape and murder and staged a demonstration at the Nighasan crossing, a few kilometres from the village.
Lakhimpur Kheri superintendent of police along with the police force rushed to the protest site and assured villagers that strict action will be taken against the accused.
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