LUCKNOW: A horrendous case of alleged gang rape and murder has been reported from Badaun in western UP where a 50-year-old anganwadi worker was brutalised by three men including the priest of a temple, on Tuesday.
After being gang-raped, the victim was left by the perpetrators to die from the injuries she sustained during the brutalities. The incident has brought back dark memories of Delhi's Nirbhaya case.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath ordered an inquiry into the incident by the special task force (STF) of UP police and directed the Additional Director General (ADG) of Bareilly Zone to present a detailed report to him.
SHO Ravindra Pratap Singh of Ughaiti police station, where the incident took place, was suspended and two of the three accused -- Mevli resident Ved Ram and one Yashpal -- were arrested by the cops.
The arrests were made after the district police registered a case of murder and gang rape and formed four teams to catch the perpetrators of the crime.
However, Baba Satyanarain Das, the temple priest and the main accused, is still at large and a bounty of Rs 50,000 has been announced for information leading to his arrest.
As per local sources, Mahant Baba Satyanarain, his aide Ved Ram and driver Yashpal fled the scene of crime around midnight leaving the woman bleeding. She succumbed to her injuries later in the night. It has also emerged from local sources that the accused had earlier taken the victim to Chandausi for treatment in their car.
The villagers and the victim's family have alleged that the police station officer of Ughaiti, Ravindra Pratap Singh, did not reach the spot even after the complaint. The body was sent for a post-mortem on Monday afternoon only - a full 18 hours after the incident. The post mortem was done by a panel of three doctors including a female doctor on Tuesday.
The post mortem found that the victim had sustained fatal injuries all over her body including her private parts. Her rib and a leg were broken while the lungs were attacked with a heavy object. A rod was inserted into her private parts causing fatal damage to her internal organs. The autopsy report claimed the victim died due to excessive bleeding.
ADG Bareilly Zone Avinash Chandra and Badaun District Magistrate Kumar Prashant met the victim's family and promised them all help.
A video has meanwhile surfaced on social media where the main accused Baba Satyanarain Das is seen to be saying that the victim had come to the temple and fallen into the well in the temple premises.
The priest, who denied any wrongdoing in the clip, is shown as saying that he had called two of his aides to take the victim out of the well and they had taken her to Chanduasi for treatment as she was grievously injured.
The priest now on the run though failed to explain why the woman was discharged from Chanduasi hospital in such a critical condition or say who had thrown her in front of her house in the night.
AICC General Secretary and party's UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took to twitter to launch an attack on the UP government for failing to ensure the security of women.
She posted, "In Hathras, the government system did not listen to the complainants, tried to shield the officers and muzzled the victim’s family. In Badaun, SHO did not listen to the complainant. He didn’t even go to inspect the crime spot. UP government is not sincere about women's security."
BSP chief Mayawati too demanded that the UP government must make a sincere effort towards ensuring the security of women in the state.
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Meanwhile, reacting to the horrific incident, AICC general Secretary and party's UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took to twitter to launch an attack on the UP government's failure to stop crimes against women.
She posted, "In Hathras, the government system did not listen to the complainants, tried to shield the officers and muzzled the victim’s family. In Badaun, SHO did not listen to complainant. He didn’t even go to inspect the crime spot. UP government is not sincere about women's security."