Several politicians expressed their shock and anger over the death of two minor Dalit sisters in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday, 14 September.
The sisters were found hanging in a sugarcane field around a kilometre from their home in the district's Nighasan area.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condemned the "disturbing" incident and slammed the UP government, saying, "Women's safety cannot be expected from those who get rapists released and revere them."
He further added, "We have to create a safe environment in the country for our sisters and daughters."
Former UP Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav also condemned the incident on social media and alleged that, according to the girls' father, the postmortem was done without their consent.
"After farmers in Lakhimpur, the killing of Dalits is now a heinous repetition of the 'Hathras ki Beti' incident," he wrote.
'Heartbreaking, Heinous. When Will Govt Wake Up?': Priyanka Gandhi
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called the incident "heartbreaking" and accused the state government of being asleep at the wheel.
"Family says the girls were abducted in broad daylight. Law and order in the state doesn't improve by giving false advertisements in newspapers and TV everyday. After all, why are heinous crimes against women increasing in Uttar Pradesh? When will the government wake up?" she wrote.
Bahujan Samaj Party Chief and former UP CM Mayawati said that the incident "exposed" the tall claims of the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government regarding law and order, and women's safety in the state.
"In cases of such heinous crimes, including Hathras, most of the criminals are fearless because of the veil cast by the government," she added.
She also said that the incident could not be condemned enough, and that the priorities of the UP government are completely wrong.
On the other hand, Trinamool Congress (TMC) national spokesperson Saket Gokhale slammed the "silence" of the Noida media over the incident.
"The silence of the Noida media on this is not just deafening but criminal. And this comes exactly on the 2nd anniversary of the Hathras gang rape & murder," he said on Twitter.
The TMC also took to its official Twitter handle, decrying the law and order situation in UP as "jungle raj."
"SHOCKING! In UP, two sisters were found hanging from a tree Under the watch of CM @myogiadityanath, UP is turning into a crime capital and the DEFEANING SILENCE of the Administration and the Police has forced people to come on the road to fight against this JUNGLE RAJ," the party said.
'Govt Will Ensure Strict Action': Dy CM KP Maurya
On the other hand, UP deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya gave the assurance that strict action will be taken against the suspects, and accused the Opposition of politicising the matter.
"The criminals who raped and murdered the daughters in Lakhimpur Kheri will be arrested soon and strictest action will be taken. The government is with the victim's family. A issueless Opposition should not do politics in such matters," he said.
UP deputy CM Brajesh Pathak seconded Maurya's statement, saying, "The government will take such an action that the souls of their (the accused) coming generations will also shiver. Justice will be given. Proceedings will be via fast-track court," news agency ANI reported.
Six Accused Nabbed
Meanwhile, six accused have been taken into custody and are being interrogated by the police, Lakhimpur Kheri Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Suman told reporters in a press conference on Thursday.
The victims' mother alleged that the perpetrators kidnapped them on a motorcycle, raped them, killed them, and then hung their bodies from the tree. The police has corroborated these allegations.
A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against four of the accused under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections pertaining to murder and rape, and also under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
According to the police, a man named Chotu, who lived near the girls' house, introduced them to three of his acquaintances – Junaid, Suhail, and Hafizul. On the pretext of friendship, the sisters were lured into the fields and raped by Suhail and Junaid.
When the girls insisted on getting married, the trio strangulated and killed them. They then called two other acquaintances Karimuddin and Arif to eliminate the evidence by making it appear that the girls had hanged themselves, the police said.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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