On Thursday, the UP police registered a case of murder into the deaths of two teenage girls whose bodies were found in a field in Unnao, even as the post-mortem revealed no injury marks.
Apart from Section 302 (murder), the FIR also lists Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code, related to causing the disappearance of evidence, on the basis of the family’s complaint.
The third girl, who is on ventilator support at a Kanpur hospital, is being treated for suspected poisoning.
“According to a (Kanpur hospital medical bulletin), it is a suspected case of poisoning and (the third girl’s) condition is critical but stable,” the U.P. Police chief said.
DGP Hitesh Chandra Awasthi said six police teams had been constituted and senior officials were supervising the probe.
“The post-mortem of the two girls was done by a panel of doctors and no injury before death or external injuries were found on their bodies,” Awasthi stated.
Although the cause of death could be immediately ascertained in the post-mortem, samples from the girls’ viscera have been preserved for further examination, police said. “We are taking the help of forensic experts and looking into all possibilities,” DGP Awasthi added.
Background
On Wednesday, two minor Dalit girls were declared brought dead in hospital and another was in a serious condition after they were found in an unconscious state in a field of a village in Asoha block of Unnao district in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
The three girls, aged 15, 14, and 16, were found in a field by the villagers when they did not return after leaving their house to take fodder for cattle, said UP police. The villagers rushed the teenagers, to a hospital, where two of them were declared brought dead. The other girl was rushed to a district hospital and later referred to a Kanpur healthcare facility.
Earlier, Unnao Superintendent of Police Anand Kulkarni said there was a contradiction in the statements of the mother and brother of the girls. He added that the brother had said the girls were tied with a stole, while her mother said on Thursday that it was around her neck.
“Our investigation has found that bodies had no marks on them either in the hands or legs, suggesting that they were not tied,” the SP said. He further added that the family members who were the first ones to reach the spot were being questioned.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Human Rights body took note of the incident and political parties slammed the Yogi Adityanath government over it.
On the other hand, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took a serious note of the incident and sought a detailed report from the director-general of police (DGP). He has directed officials to ensure proper treatment of the teenager.
