NEW DELHI, Aug 28: A day after the bodies of two teen-aged Dalit girls found hanging from a tree in Bhagautipur village of Farrukhabad district in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, the case has remained a mystery with the police and the victims’ kin engaged in a war of words over whether the incident was a murder or suicide.
While police claiming the findings and post-mortem report lead it to a case of double suicide, the family members allege that the minors were murdered. The incident has also turned political, with the Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) raising a question mark over women’s safety in the state.
But the BJP, which has targeted the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee demanding her resignation because the Kolkata police initially tried to pass on as suicide the horrific rape and murder of a trainee postgraduate doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, is mum on the case of the Dalit girls in UP where the party is in power.
“Our investigation is on, we are trying to find out the factors that led to the deaths. Our initial investigation and post-mortem report of the girls aged 15 and 17 years have confirmed that the duo died by suicide,” said Alok Priyadarshi, the District Superintendent of Police. Sources with UP Police said the call details of both the girls have been accessed in order to find the reason behind the probable suicide.
The residents of Bhagautipur woke up to the horrific news on Tuesday as images of the minors hanging from a tree flooded the media. “I left home early in the morning at around 4.30am to relieve myself. While passing a tree in a mango orchard, I spotted something unusual. From a distance, it appeared to be a long, red-coloured cloth. However, when I came near the tree, I spotted the two girls hanging from it and the red-coloured cloth was the kurta that one of the girls was wearing,” said a villager who first spotted the bodies. Residents said the incident reminded them of the infamous 2014 Badaun rape case in which two girls were found hanging from a tree in a similar manner.
The man rushed to the village to break the news to the families who were searching for their missing daughters. “Both girls were friends and neighbours. They went together to see the tableau at the nearby temple on Janmashtami on Monday evening. That was the last time we saw them. The next morning, they were found hanging from the tree,” said the father of one of the girls.
According to the police, both the girls were found hanging using two ends of the same stole (dupatta). The duo went missing from the village temple where they had gone to see the Janmashtami tableau at around 9pm on Monday night.
Dr Avneendra Kumar, Chief Medical Officer of Farrukhabad, said the post mortem revealed no signs of sexual assault or retaliation. “Both girls died of asphyxia due to hanging,” he said. Forensic investigators also discovered footmarks on the tree, suggesting the girls may have climbed it to die by suicide, police added.
The kin of the girls, however, insist that they were murdered. “My daughter can’t die by suicide; she had no reason to. She was just 15, a happy-go-lucky girl with no mental pressure or tension. They were good friends; why would they die by suicide for no reason? There is something fishy. The police should investigate the matter thoroughly,” said the father of one of the girls. On Wednesday, the grieving families staged a demonstration after some claimed to have spotted marks on the girls’ bodies. However, following intervention by the district administration and the police, the agitated family members agreed to cremate the duo.
The incident drew sharp criticism from the Opposition, with Congress terming UP a “crematorium” for women. “In Farrukhabad, the bodies of two girls who had gone to the temple on the day of Janmashtami were found hanging in a mango orchard. Who hanged them here? Why did they hang them? Nobody knows anything. This state has become a crematorium for women. No woman who steps out of her home feels safe here. The government must take some concrete steps to rein in these fearless beasts! Till when will our sisters and daughters continue to live in fear?” the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) posted on X.
SP chief and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav questioned UP’s law and order on X. “It is a very sensitive incident that the bodies of two girls, who had gone out to see Janmashtami celebrations in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh, were found hanging from a tree. The BJP government should immediately conduct an impartial inquiry into this matter and submit its report on this suspicious case of murder. Such incidents create a horrific atmosphere in society, which causes deep mental trauma to women. The inevitable time has come to raise ‘women safety’ as a serious issue, rising above politics,” he said.
Meanwhile, in another incident in the neighbouring Uttarakhand, two women were harassed by a group of men late on Tuesday night near the Sacred Heart School in Haldwani. The video of the same is going viral on social media.
In the harrowing video, the two cars with several men seen tried to block and intimidate the women on Mukhani Road. The video show the vehicle in which the women were travelling was forced to slow down by a black Mahindra Scorpio in front. In a second car, a Hyundau Nios i20, coming from the right side has two men perching on the front doors. The two men sitting on the doors of the car can be heard shouting abusive comments at the women on the street.
“Just tonight, I was coming back with my female friend from the movie and suddenly two cars full of 10 men tried to block our way. This incident took place at Mukhani road near Sacred Heart School, Haldwani,” one of the two girls shared the video of the incident online.
Elaborating on how they escaped, she said, “The second time when the men blocked us completely by opening all car doors but luckily a man in Scooty appeared and he tried to pass them which gave us a chance to escape. We somehow managed to run from there but just after few minutes they again tried to do the same.”
“Is this how peace and security is being maintained in the city? Why is hooliganism increasing in the city? she said raising concern over the safety and security of women in the state. She further requested the Uttarakhand Police to take strict action in the matter as this was related to the safety and security of the women residing in Haldwani.
Soon after the disturbing video was posted on Wednesday afternoon, the police registered an FIR in connection with the matter and arrested the men travelling in the car. The two cars have also been seized by the police.
“Taking cognizance of the video circulated on social media regarding the chasing of girls by a vehicle in Haldwani, Nainital Police took action and registered an FIR and seized both the cars and arrested the youths travelling in the cars,” the police informed.
(Manas Dasgupta)
