2 UP cops sacked for lax gang-rape investigation

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said that the case of the two teenaged cousin sisters, who were reportedly gang-raped, before being murdered and hanged from a tree will be tried in a fast-track court.

The chief minister also announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the two girls, while two policemen have been dismissed from service on charges of laxity.

Emphasising that the government had taken stern action in the matter, Akhilesh warned that those found negligent in controlling crime in the state would be taken to task. He denied that the incident was reflective of the worsening law and order situation in the state.

A team of the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Friday visited the families of the victims and recorded their statements, according to reports.

BSP supremo Mayawati, however, came down heavily on the UP government for what she alleged was a failure to ensure the safety of womenfolk. She also demanded the imposition of President’s rule in the state.

Mayawati even urged Governor B L Joshi to direct a CBI probe into the matter. The family members of the victims had also made this demand saying they had no faith in the local police.

The incident, which took place in the Budaun district of Uttar Pradesh, has triggered widespread outrage. Three of the five suspects have been arrested.

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

The girls, aged 14 and 15, had gone out to answer nature’s call on Tuesday night when they went missing. Their bodies were found hanging from a tree in an orchard outside the village on Wednesday morning.

Govt to set up rape crisis cell

 Blaming police laxity for the horrific gangrape of two Dalit sisters in the district, Union Women and Child Welfare Minister Maneka Gandhi said that a “rape crisis cell” will be constituted for speedy action on such incidents.

Maneka also assured that if the family members of the two girls want, she would recommend a CBI probe into the incident.

“Police laxity is equally responsible for the incident due to which two girls lost their lives. Police is still not acting in the right direction. All policemen involved in the incident should be terminated,” she told PTI over phone from Badaun (UP).