Two Dalit sisters gang-raped in Uttar Pradesh, bodies found hanging from tree

In a shocking incident, reminiscent of gangrape and murder of a dalit teen in Hathras last year, two minor sisters hailing from the dalit community, were allegedly raped before being killed. Their bodies were hung from a tree in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district about 150 kilometres from here.

Six people were arrested in connection with the incident, which triggered nationwide outrage and invited sharp criticism from the opposition leaders, police officials said in Lakhimpur Kheri on Thursday. One of the accused was arrested after an encounter with the cops in which he sustained bullet injuries on his leg.

Also Read — Lakhimpur Kheri death case: Post-mortem confirms rape

District Superintendent of Police, Sanjeev Suman told reporters in Lakhimpur Kheri on Thursday that the dalit sisters, aged 15 and 17, knew some of the accused persons and had 'voluntarily' gone with one of their friends on Wednesday. He refuted the claims of the family that the sisters had been kidnapped.

''The sisters had gone with two of the accused persons voluntarily... they knew them through a common friend,'' he said

The official said that the sisters were taken to a deserted place where they were raped by two accused persons, identified as Junaid and Suhail. The sisters were strangled to death with their 'dupattas' after they insisted that the duo marry them.

Also Read — Dalit sisters killed after they insisted rape accused to marry them: UP Police

He said that the duo, after killing the sisters, called four others, who were their friends, and with their help, hung the bodies of the victims from a mango tree to make it look like a suicide. The official said that a panel of three doctors conducted the postmortem examination of the bodies. The autopsy confirmed rape and strangling.

The mother of the victims, however, claimed that the sisters had been 'kidnapped' by some motorbike-borne miscreants from their home on Wednesday. ''A few hours later we found them hanging from a tree near the village,'' she said. An irate mob of villagers later blocked traffic on a busy road in protest of the incident. The mother also alleged that the police forcibly took away the bodies of the sisters for postmortem examination.

The incident triggered sharp reactions from opposition leaders. ''We cannot expect those, who release rapists and honour them, to ensure protection of women,'' former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said in a post on Twitter.
''The law and order situation does not become good simply by putting up advertisements in the newspapers and TV,'' Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav also condemned the incident and said that it exposed the hollow claims of the BJP government on women's safety in the state.

Earlier also several such incidents had been reported from different parts of the state. Two dalit sisters were found hanging from a tree in Sambhal district in 2019. Similarly, two dalit sisters were found hanging from a tree in Baharaich distrit a few years back. A dalit teen, who had been gangraped in Hathras district last year, later died at a hospital in Delhi.