Shock over sisters' rape, murder; NCW steps in

Kin seek CBI enquiry, say they have no faith in police

The National Commission of Women has taken suo moto cognisance of the alleged gang-rape and murder of two teenaged Dalit sisters, whose bodies were found hanging from a tree in Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh.

“We have taken suo moto cognisance of the gang-rape. An enquiry committee has been set up and will be sent there for further investigations into the case,” National Commission for Women Chairperson Mamata Sharma said.

“We are waiting the Action Taken report and only after that we can see what needs to be done,” Sharma added.

“Right now we have no information about any arrests made in the case,” she said. Describing the case as ‘gruesome’, she said strict action would be taken based on the inquiry.

She said an enquiry committee will be sent in a day or two to look into the matter.

CBI probe

The family members of the two teen cousins, who were allegedly gang-raped have demanded a CBI probe saying that they had no faith in the local police.

They told the local media on Thursday that the police was exerting pressure on them to ‘make a compromise’ in the matter and that they did not expect an impartial probe by the local cops.

Two of the five alleged culprits have been arrested in connection with the incident, that has triggered widespread resentment and outrage in the state and country, while four policemen – including two sub-inspectors – have been suspended.

One of the local policemen, identified as Sarvesh Yadav, who had initially refused to register a missing report when the parents of the girls approached him, has been arrested, according to the sources here.

The two teens, both cousins – aged 14 and 15 – had gone out to answer the call of nature on Tuesday night, when they went missing.

Their bodies were found hanging from a tree in a mango orchard outside the village on Wednesday morning.

It was alleged that among the culprits was also a cop.

Tension

Since the victims were from a lower caste while the accused hailed from another caste, the incident also triggered tension in the area with a large number of people blocking traffic on the main highway demanding arrest of the culprits.

Social and women’s activists and opposition parties have condemned the incident and demanded a fair probe into the matter.

“The incident proves that the law and order situation in the state has gone out of control,” said BJP leader Vijay Bahadur Pathak.