NEW DELHI: The TMC has written to the NHRC alleging "omissions" on the part of the Uttar Pradesh Police and that it tried to "bury" evidence of rape in the incident in Khevrajpur village in Prayagraj district where a family of five members were murdered and their house set on fire.
A fact-finding delegation of the TMC visited the spot of the incident on April 24 and met with the family and other villagers to inquire into the details of the incident.
The party alleged that despite surviving members of the family stating to the police that they suspected rape, no FIR to that effect was registered.
"During the visit of the delegation, we found out from the surviving member of the family Sunil Yadav that there have been shocking omissions on part of the police in the investigation of the case," the letter said.
It said that among other things, the one important fact that stood out was that Yadav and his family stated that the bodies of two of the victims i.e. Sunil Yadav's wife and his 22-year old handicapped sister were found without their clothes on.
"There was also vaginal bleeding on the body of the handicapped sister leading to firm suspicion of part of the surviving families that the 2 victims had been raped before being murdered. The surviving members of the family also told us that this fact was repeatedly mentioned by them to the police. However, the FIR registered in the case (FIR no.0080/2022 at Tharwai Police Station) does not include the charge of rape u/s 376 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860," the letter from the TMC delegation said.
It further said that the incident is not an isolated one and the villagers claimed that there have been about 31 murders that have happened in the Gangapar area of Prayagraj last month.
Prima facie, based on the statements of the survivors of the family to our delegation, it is clear that the Prayagraj Police has not been carrying out the investigation in a fair and proper manner.
The survivors of the family expressed great anguish at the police's attempt to bury the fact that two of the victims could've been raped and that they had lost faith in the Prayagraj Police's ability to conduct a fair probe and ensure that the perpetrators are caught and charged.
"The surviving members of the family have clearly told our delegation that they wish that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for at free and fair investigation," the letter said.
The TMC has requested a meeting with the NHRC chairman to furnish all the relevant facts, evidence, and statements that has been collected by the delegation.
The five-member fact-finding delegation was led by Dola Sen and also comprised Mamata Bala Thakur, Saket Gokhale, Jyotsna Mandi and Lalitesh Tripathi.