Hang the accused the same way they hanged my daughters, says mother of Dalit teens

Compensation of ₹8.25 lakh transferred to the bank account of the mother, proceedings for the payment of the remaining amount are in progress, says Lakhimpur Kheri district magistrate

LAKHIMPUR KHERI An eerie silence prevailed in the village of the two Dalit sisters, aged 15 and 17, who were found hanging from a tree in a sugarcane field a kilometre away from their home in Nighasan police station area on Wednesday.

Mortal remains of two girls, whose bodies were found hanging from a tree, being buried in Lakhimpur Kheri on Thursday. (ANI Photo)

Even as the district administration deployed a dozen police personnel at the house of the deceased to maintain law and order, a few visitors called on the bereaved family amid incessant rains on Friday. The girls’ mother appealed to the visitors – “hang the accused the same way they hanged my daughters.”

BJP district president Sunil Singh, along with Nighasan MLA Shashank Verma, met the girls’ kin and assured them all help.

An 11-member delegation of the Congress comprising MLAs Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’ and Virendra Chaudhary, former MP Zafar Ali Naqvi, former MLA Satish Ajmani, UPCC general secretary Abhishek Patel, UPCC SC/ST cell chairman Tanuj Punia, UPCC women’s cell president Mamta Chaudhry and others expressed solidarity with the family.

Similar silence prevailed in Lalpur village – the native place of the accused who were arrested on Thursday.

“Junaid, Suhail and Hafeezur Rehman were reportedly arrested during an encounter with the Nighasan police and the SWAT team in the Nighasan police station area on Thursday morning. Following their interrogation, the other accused Karimuddin, and Chhotu Gautam were also arrested,” said Prashant Kumar, ADG (law and order).

The accused were booked under Sections 302, 376 of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) Act. The police said the two minor girls were murdered after being raped.

“The sisters were lured to the farms and raped by Sohail and Junaid. After the girls wanted the accused to marry them, Sohail, Hafeezul, and Junaid strangulated and killed them. They then called Karimuddin and Arif and hanged the girls for eliminating any proof,” stated SP Sanjeev Suman.

“We never anticipated such heinous crime in our village. It will vitiate our relationship with the people of the other village,” lamented a villager.

According to the villagers, the five youths - Junaid, Suhail, Hafeezur Rehman, Karimuddin and Arif were educated up to High School level and belonged to poor families.

Meanwhile, the Lakhimpur Kheri police geared up to establish the sequence of events in the brutal murder of the two Dalit sisters to finalise the charge-sheet against the accused.

After chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s order for the trial of the case in a fast track court, the Lakhimpur Kheri police gathered all forensic evidences and recorded statements of the accused.

“Our forensic teams have gathered conclusive evidences against the accused, which are enough to establish their involvement in the crime,” stated AK Singh, ASP (Lakhimpur Kheri).

He added: “DNA samples of the victims and the accused have been sent to the FSL, Lucknow, for further examination and analysis. Police remand of the accused would be sought, if required.”

Police sources said that electronic surveillance established the presence of the accused on the spot of crime besides their relationship with the deceased sisters.

50% compensation amount given to victims’ mother

As agreed between the family members of the two deceased sisters and the authorities, the district administration transferred 50% of the compensation amount – ₹8.25 lakh as per rule (which is awarded under the SC/ST Act) into the bank account of the deceased’s mother.

Kheri district magistrate Mahendra Bahadur Singh told media persons on Friday that a compensation of ₹8.25 lakh had been transferred to the bank account of the mother while proceedings for the payment of the remaining amount were in progress.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had announced ₹25 lakh compensation, a pucca house and agricultural land for the bereaved family. He also assured of punishment to the accused within a month through a trial in a fast track court.