2 Dalit teenagers found hanging from tree in UP
Two Dalit girls aged 15 and 18 were found hanging from a tree in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad district on Tuesday morning.
Two Dalit girls aged 15 and 18 were found hanging from a tree in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad district on Tuesday morning, police said, bringing back memories of the grisly deaths of two sisters in Badaun a decade ago.
The two girls were neighbours and close friends, the police said, adding that the bodies were found in a mango orchard in a village near Kayamganj in Farrukhabad district.
“Initial findings indicate that the two girls were neighbours and close friends. One body was found hanging from one end of a dupatta, and the other from the opposite end,” said superintendent of police (SP) Alok Priyadarshi.
The police suggested that the two girls might have died by suicide – a theory strongly contested by their families and experts.
“It appears they might have committed suicide by hanging from the tree, but the police are investigating the case thoroughly,” Priyadarshi said.
“Both were murdered, and their bodies were hanged with a dupatta,” said the father of one of the victims.
Senior criminal lawyer Danish Qureishi said “it is highly unusual and rather suspicious for two girls to commit suicide using a single dupatta”. “A dupatta is usually about two metres long, and making a noose would use up more than half of its length. So, it raises questions about how they could have used it to hang from the branch,” he said.
The post-mortem report confirmed that the two girls died due to hanging, but a detailed autopsy report on the possibility of murder or sexual assault was awaited at the time of going to print.
The deceased belonged to the Jatav caste. No case has been filed so far since the police are awaiting a formal complaint from the family, officials said.
Priyadarshi said the two girls went missing from the village temple, where they had gone to see the Sri Krishna Janmashtami tableau, around 9pm on Monday night and did not return home. The SP said the girls’ families searched for them extensively throughout the night but could not find them.
On Tuesday morning, the bodies were found hanging from a tree. The SP, who also visited the scene of the incident, added that a mobile phone was found near the tree, and a SIM card was found among the belongings of one of the girls. “An investigation is underway,” he said.
The father of one girl said the two went out together, first at 7.30pm on Monday and came back, then again at 9pm to the temple. When they didn’t return, he went to his sister’s nearby house to check if his daughter was there. Not finding them there, he searched the whole village and surrounding areas.
“Around 5am, my sister-in-law, who had gone to attend nature’s call, came rushing and told me about two bodies hanging from a tree. I rushed and found one was my daughter and the other was my neighbour’s daughter,” said the father. He also alleged that his daughter was murdered.
The families of the deceased are part of the farming community.
Farrukhabad chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Avanindra Kumar said the post-mortem report findings confirmed ante-mortem asphyxia, which meant that the death of girls was due to hanging. He said no sexual assault was confirmed in the initial report, and no injuries were found on the bodies of the two girls. He said slides were prepared for further detailed examination of the possibility of sexual assault. The CMO said the post-mortem of the two bodies was videographed.
The developments come amid a nationwide tumult over women’s safety after the rape and murder of a young doctor in Kolkata three weeks ago, and sweeping protests across the nation.
The case also brings back memories of 2014, when two cousins were found hanging from a tree in Badaun, triggering allegations that they were gang-raped. The local police’s investigation garnered controversy amid charges that officers were going slow and attempting a cover-up amid speculations of a hate crime. The case was eventually transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which concluded that there was no gang rape and that it was a case of suicide. But a court later rejected the CBI’s closure report in the case.