Missing Dalit Woman's Body Found Buried Near Ex-Samajwadi Party MLA's Ashram

Image used for representation.

(Photo Courtesy: Lijumol Joseph/ The Quint)

The decomposed body of the 22-year-old Dalit woman, who went missing two months ago from Unnao, was recovered from a vacant plot near the ashram of ex-Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA, Fateh Bahadur Singh, PTI reported on Friday, 11 February.

According to The Indian Express, Unnao police on Friday said that the woman had died of strangulation, and there were injuries on her head and neck.

Rajol Singh, the prime accused in the case, is the son of Fateh Bahadur, who was a minister in the SP from 2012-17. Rajol was arrested last month.

The Unnao police interrogated Rajol Singh and used local intelligence and mobile surveillance to reach the location where the body was buried, PTI reported.

"We interrogated the accused Rajol Singh on remand. After which we recovered the woman's body on Thursday. The body was buried in the plot near the ashram. We used local intelligence and mobile surveillance to identify the spot where the body was buried," said Unnao's Additional Superintendent of Police Shashi Shekhar Singh.

Victim's Mother Had Attempted Self-Immolation in Front of Akhilesh Yadav's Car

The police officer hinted at the possibility of illicit relations leading up to the crime and assured of action against anyone who was involved.

The deceased's family had initially refused to cremate her, demanding swift action against Rajol Singh. However, the family relented after being given an assurance by the administration.

Meanwhile, a police officer has been suspended for slow action and a second person has been arrested, reported NDTV.

The mother of the deceased had alleged that her daughter was abducted by Rajol Singh right after she was reported missing on 8 December. She filed a complaint against Rajol Singh the next day.

The victim's mother had attempted self-immolation in front of Akhilesh Yadav's car on 24 January, accusing the Unnao police of delaying the investigation into the matter.

Rajol Singh was arrested by the police on the very same day.

Political Reactions

Meanwhile, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned why the police took so much time to act on the matter and added that they are with the victim's family.

"The person who they are saying belongs to the Samajwadi Party died four years ago. Police should answer why they took so many days to act on the matter. We are with the victim's family. We are with her mother and her demand should be fulfilled," Akhilesh Yadav told news agency ANI.

UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya accused Akhilesh Yadav of shielding his party leader.

"Akhilesh Yadav, a Dalit daughter's body has been found from a Samajwadi Party leader's land. You didn't listen to the girl's mother when she was begging in front of your car. You are shielding your party leader. You will shield every crime of Samajwadi Party leaders. You will leave no stone unturned to help the accused," he tweeted in Hindi.

Earlier, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, taking cognisance of the recovery, took to social media on Friday, 11 February, to condemn the act, and demanded a swift probe by the state government. She said that the family members were already suspecting the SP MLA's involvement, and now it was for the state government to provide justice to her without further ado.

(With inputs from PTI, ANI and NDTV.)