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Bulandshahr girl’s murder draws pol leaders’ attention
As they went about campaigning for the first phase of the UP assembly elections, starting from west UP on 10 February, not only Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, but also Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary, paid attention to the murder of a 20-year-old girl in Chatari area of Bulandshahr district.
The murder of a 20-year-old girl in Chatari area of Bulandshahr district drew the attention of not only Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, but also Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary, even as they went about campaigning for the first phase of UP assembly polls, starting from west UP on February 10.
On Thursday, in a surprise move, Priyanka went to the victim’s village and met he family members. She equated the crime with the ‘Hathras’ case. In the Hathras incident last year a Dalit girl was raped and attacked and her body was allegedly cremated late in the night by the police after her death.
Priyanka said the victim’s family was not satisfied with the police action against the accused and blamed the cops for forcing them to cremate the girl’s body at night. She assured the family of all legal support in their fight for justice.
The girl was shot dead in a village of Chatari on January 21 and cremated in the night after post-mortem.
Priyanka said that police added additional sections of the IPC against the accused only after they come to know Congress leaders were going to meet the victim’s family.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh and Jayant, who were also campaigning in Bulandshahar, attacked the Yogi government. Both leaders equated the Chatari incident with that of Hathras.
They said the government should stop lying regarding safety and security of women in the state. “They did the girl’s cremation in the night but this government will be ousted in daylight,” said Akhilesh.
Priyanka also accused the police and the administration of indulging in character assassination of the girl as what they did in Hathras.
Meanwhile, circle officer of Dibai area Vandana Sharma denied the charges of the victim’s family that the police pressurised them for cremation in the night. “No policeman was either present at their house or cremation ground during the last rites,” the CO said. She refused to comment whether rape was confirmed in the postmortem.
She further said: “Police can’t confirm about rape. Doctors who did postmortem could confirm it,” she said and claimed that sections of rape had been included for investigation.
The CO said that three accused had been arrested and raids were being conducted to arrest the other accused named by the family.
