2 men held for rape, murder of UP girl

Two men were arrested for the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl in a village in Lakhimpur Kheri district, police said on Sunday.

While some reports had suggested that the accused had gouged out the girl’s eyes and cut her tongue, district superintendent of police Satendra Kumar denied these claims.

According to police, the incident took place on Friday afternoon, when the two accused dragged the Dalit girl into a sugarcane field on finding her alone.

“Initial investigation revealed that the assailants dragged the girl into the sugarcane field after finding her alone on Friday afternoon. The duo raped and strangled her to conceal the crime. We zeroed in on the duo on the basis of the statement of the girl’s family members and other witnesses,” Abhishek Pratap, Dhaurahra area circle officer (CO) said. The post mortem report established strangulation after rape as the cause of death, the officer said.

Kumar said that there was no mention of mutilation of the girl’s

LUCKNOW/ LAKHIMPUR KHERI :

body in the post-mortem report.

Sections of rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act have been added to the FIR, was earlier filed under IPC section 302 and a section of SC/ST Act, the SP said.

The process of slapping National Security Act against the two accused has also been initiated, the SP added.

Meanwhile, a political row has erupted in the state after the crime came to light, with opposition parties hitting out at the Bjpruled state government for the alleged rise in atrocities against women and children.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, former Congress MP Jitin Prasada and several other leaders condemned the incident. Taking to Twitter, Yadav said, “The rape and murder of a teenage girl in Lakhimpur Kheri is an incident which has shaken humanity. In the BJP rule, atrocities on children and women are at an all-time high.”

Mayawati demanded strict action against the guilty. “What is the difference between the SP government and the present BJP government...”

(With agency inputs )