JOIN USThe Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday rejected the rape and murder theory of two cousin sisters who were found hanging from a tree in Uttar Pradesh’s Budaun six months ago, saying the teenagers committed suicide.
The CBI’s assertion, which was “based on around 40 scientific reports”, has evoked angry reactions from their families who demanded an intervention by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a thorough and fair probe.
“The CBI has concluded that the two minor girls in the Badaun case had not been raped and murdered as had been alleged in the FIR. Investigation has concluded that it is a case of suicide,” the CBI said.
The agency will now be filing a report in court recommending closure of the case besides recommending action against UP Police officers for “erroneous” investigations.
The discovery of the two girls hanging from a mango tree on May 28 this year had triggered a political storm with Samajwadi Party-led government in the state facing criticism from across the political spectrum. Five persons were arrested by police accusing them of rape and murder but CBI decided not to file chargesheet against them.
Though being questioned by family and a section of activists, CBI officials said they have based their “conclusions” on the foundation of forensic reports received from multi-agency medical board, Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, FSL Gandhinagar among others.
“The medical report from multi-agency medical board, corroborated by team of doctors which conducted first post-mortem during their examination, conclusively says that the girls had committed suicide,” a senior CBI official said. Protrusion of the tongue was a unique sign of suicide, he added.
Also, there was no male DNA on the clothes of the girls while the ligature marks on their necks was a unique sign that indicated suicide, the officials said, adding the girls committed suicide after the affair of the elder girl became public. The younger one also felt pressure, as she knew about the affair and kept vigil while the lovers were meeting.
Another argument put forward by the CBI was that the team of doctors, which conducted the first post-mortem, mistook menstrual blood of the younger victim to be a sign of sexual assault. The body was kept hanging for 12 hours, which led to the accumulation of blood in the private parts, they said.