Lakhimpur Kheri: A 20-year-old woman died on Saturday, days after sustaining injuries in an attack by two men during a molestation attempt in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district, police said, adding the two accused have been arrested.
The accused, both Muslim men in their 20s, are residents of the same village as the victim, police said. They had allegedly attacked the woman, who belonged to other backward class (OBC) community, with a sharp-edged weapon in her house on September 12, a senior police officer said.
“On the basis of the statement of the woman and complaint by her mother, a first information report (FIR) under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against the two accused on September 12 itself,” deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Gola, Rajesh Kumar told HT. “Later, IPC Section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by means of any instrument for shooting, stabbing or cutting) was also added following the investigation and the medical report of the woman.”
On Saturday after the death of the woman, IPC Section 304 (causing death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act) was further added to the FIR, he said.
{{/usCountry}}On Saturday after the death of the woman, IPC Section 304 (causing death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act) was further added to the FIR, he said.
{{/usCountry}}In her initial statement, the woman had alleged that the two men attacked her without any provocation. A video of her purported statement was released by the district information office on Friday. However, in a later video circulated on social media, she accused the attackers of molestation, police said.
After the woman’s death, her mother and brother alleged that the two accused had made a bid to outrage her modesty and when they did not succeed, they attacked her. Her family members also accused the police of suppressing facts in the FIR.
DSP Kumar, however, refuted the allegation saying the FIR was lodged as per the statement of the woman on Monday and the complaint by her mother. “In view of the allegations of negligence by the family, local outpost in-charge Sunil Yadav has been suspended by the SP with immediate effect,” Kumar added.
The woman’s body was handed over to her relatives after the post-mortem examination and later she was cremated on Saturday evening amid deployment of heavy police force in the village, a senior officer said, adding that the autopsy report was awaited.
Meanwhile, the investigation of the case has been assigned to additional superintendent of police (ASP) Arun Kumar Singh.
Soon after the woman’s death, her family members and villagers staged a protest demanding swift action against the accused. ASP Singh, DSP Kumar and other authorities rushed to the village and pacified the agitating villagers, assuring them of effective action. After hours of negotiations, her family members agreed to hand over the body to police for a post-mortem examination.