LUCKNOW: Two persons were booked for raping and killing a 13-year-old girl in the district of Lakhimpur Kheri of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. The two accused were arrested for the crime that had taken place on Friday.
However, police refuted the reports of grievous injuries on the tongue and eyes of the victim claiming that her post-mortem report stated that the death was due to strangulation after rape. However, the incident brought the Yogi Adityanath government in spotlight yet again and a scathing attack from the opposition over law and order situation of the state.
The post mortem report of the 13-year-old girl (whose body was found in a field in Isanagar), confirms rape: Satyendra Kumar, SP Lakhimpur Kheri https://t.co/6peOBSa0vO pic.twitter.com/SRAKCnJ8PE
According to local police sources, the girl had gone to her fields on Friday afternoon. When she did not return home, her family started looking for her and found her body in a sugarcane field. Lakhimpur Kheri SP Satyendra Kumar said that the men have been booked under Section 302 (murder) and Section 376 (D) (gang rape) of Indian Penal Code besides the POCSO Act and the SC/ST Act.
The SP said that strict action would be taken against the culprits under the National Security Act (NSA). Kumar said that the post-mortem report of the minor confirmed it was a case of rape.
DSP (Dhaurahra) Abhishek Pratap claimed that two culprits were arrested on Friday night. He added that two youths identified as Sanjay Gautam and Santosh Yadav were arrested on the basis of the complaint filed by the father of the deceased.
However, earlier, reports were doing rounds that the eyes and tongue of the victim had been inflicted with injuries by the accused while committing the crime. However, the the DSP said that post-mortem conducted by a panel of doctors showed no such thing.
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Meanwhile, the state government came in under fire from the opposition over the law and order situation.
While Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said the incident had shaken humanity, he accused the state government of shielding all those culprits who were committing rape, kidnapping and murder in the state with impunity.
Senior Congress leader Jitin Prasada too called it an inhuman act. "This is an extremely saddening incident. In this episode, the police must initiate such a strong action that it becomes a deterrent for criminals," said Prasada.
Terming the incident as very saddening and shameful, BSP supremo Mayawati had on Saturday demanded strict action against the guilty. "What is the difference between the SP government and the present BJP government if such incidents keep happening. The BSP demands that the government should initiate strong action against the guilty in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident and also in the Azamgarh incident," she said in a tweet