+
 
For the best experience, open
m.thewire.in
on your mobile browser or Download our App.
You are reading an older article which was published on
Feb 19, 2021

Unnao Deaths: UP Police Says No Evidence of Sexual Assault, Autopsy Inconclusive

Police suspect poisoning to have caused the deaths of the two girls. The condition of the third girl is "still critical, but stable".
Security personnel stand guard during post-mortem of two minor Dalit girls, who were found dead in a field on Wednesday evening, near Baburaha village in Unnao district, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. Another minor who was found in critical condition is undergoing treatment at a hospital. Photo: PTI.

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday said that the postmortem report in the Unnao case had not found any injuries on the two deceased girls’ bodies and was inconclusive about the cause of the death, the Indian Express has reported.

The police added that there is no evidence to suggest that it was a sexual assault, but all angles, including “honour killing” and suicide, are being investigated.

On Wednesday, two Dalit girls, aged 13 and 16, were found dead while another 17-year-old was found critical in the fields of Babuhara village in Asoha located in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh. The third girl is currently at a Kanpur health facility on ventilator support and is being treated for suspected poisoning.

As the cause of death of two girls is yet to be ascertained, Uttar Pradesh director general of police (DGP), Hitesh Chandra Awasthi, according to PTI, said, ” 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. The cause of death could not be ascertained and viscera has been preserved for chemical analysis. We are taking the help of forensic experts and looking into all possibilities.”

Meanwhile, the police on Thursday registered a first information report (FIR) on unidentified persons, and charged with Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on the family’s complaint.

Also read: Unnao: UP Police File FIR in Death of Two Dalit Girls, Third Girl Still Critical

Six police teams have been constituted by the state police to probe into the matter, and the Uttar Pradesh Human Rights Commission has sought a report from the police on the matter within two weeks, PTI has reported.

On Wednesday, February 17, the three girls in question, who were cousins, were found by the family members lying in the wheat fields helpless in the evening around 7 pm. According to family members, the girls had gone out to collect fodder, as they do regularly, but did not return home in the evening, prompting them to go searching for them.

Upon finding them lying on the ground, the family members carried the girls hurriedly and moved them to a local hospital. A local who spotted them informed the police about the incident. The families are daily wage labourers and own less than one bigha of land in the village, dominated by Brahmins, and Dalits form part of a small community, according to the Indian Express.

Unnao district superintendent of police (SP), Sureshrao A Kulkarni, said there was a contradiction in the versions of the incident presented by various family members. He added that while the girls’ brother had said that they were tied up with a stole, one of the girls’ mother had said her daughter’s stole was around her neck, just as usual, according to PTI.

According to Indian Express, Kulkarni said that if  “the girls were tied up, some injuries would have shown in the post-mortem”. “Our investigation has found that bodies had no marks on them either in the hands or legs, suggesting that they were not tied,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.

The Indian Express quoted another senior police officer, who is part of the investigation, as saying that  “post-mortem had ruled out sexual assault or strangulation and found no injuries to the body or any organ”. Instead, he said “a pungent-smelling substance was found in the stomach of the two girls… Doctors suspect it could be a poisonous substance”. “The family is not giving us clear information,” he added.

Unnao

Locals stage a protest after bodies of two minor Dalit girls were found in a field and another in critical condition on Wednesday evening, near Baburaha village in Unnao district, Thursday, February 18, 2021. Photo: PTI.

The records available with the community health centre (CHC), where the families first rushed to, state that while the two girls were brought dead, the other was in a “gasping condition”. “The records say that the one who survived was foaming from the mouth and was gasping. No injury was found on her,” the Indian Express quoted a doctor as saying.

The health bulletin released by the hospital said that the condition of the 17-year-old girl was still “critical, but stable”. Inspector general (Lucknow Range) Laxmi Singh said they were hopeful that she would recover and shed light on what had happened.

Meanwhile, Laxmi Singh clarified that the police did not detain anyone from the family as is being claimed by the mother of the 16-year-old. He told Indian Express that they needed a family member during the postmortem to be present.

Political uproar 

The issue has once again put a spotlight on the Uttar Pradesh government, with opposition leaders slamming the Yogi Adityanath government for failing to ensure the security of women, in the wake of rising crime against them.

Taking to Twitter, Rahul Gandhi said, “The UP government is not only crushing Dalit society, but also the honour and human rights of women. But they should remember that I and the entire Congress party will stand as the voice of victims and will endeavour to get them justice.”

He also used the hashtag “Save_Unnao_Ki_Beti” (daughter of Unnao) in his tweet.

Priyanka Gandhi demanded that the third girl be shifted to Delhi for better medical treatment and asked why her family had been detained.

In a Facebook post, she said: “The Unnao incident is heart-wrenching. Hearing out the family and providing immediate medical help to the third victim is very important for investigation and justice.”

Also read: UP Police Now Claims Hathras Victim Wasn’t Raped, Matter ‘Twisted’ to ‘Stir Caste Tension’

BSP chief Mayawati expressed condolences to the affected family, describing the incident as “very serious and sad”.

“The BSP demands a high-level inquiry into the incident and strict punishment for the culprits,” she tweeted.

Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav described it as shocking and a “shame on humanity”, and demanded strict punishment for the culprits.

“It seems that the chief minister did not care about law and order in the state. The state has become insecure for women due to the BJP,” he said in a statement.

He said the Adityanath government had “failed” to check the atrocities on women.

“The BJP government does not have any policy for women security. BJP ideology ignores women interests. UP has become ‘Hatya Pradesh’ (murder state) in the present regime,” Yadav added.

Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad demanded that a post-mortem be conducted by a medical board of AIIMS Delhi and the third girl be shifted there for treatment.

A Samajwadi Party spokesperson said a delegation would visit Unnao on Saturday to meet the family members of the victims.

Party MLC Sunil Singh Yadav, who is from Unnao, alleged that police are trying to hush up the case and sought a probe by an independent agency.

Meanwhile, Yogi Adityanath called the incident tragic, tweeting, “DGP, UP has been instructed to submit a report… It is being ensured that the girl gets the best treatment with no charges.”

(With PTI inputs)

 

Make a contribution to Independent Journalism
facebook twitter