A woman who had first discovered the body of the 3-year-old girl who was brutally murdered in Aligarh has said that that the local Muslim community has now started threatening her, according to a ground report by Swarajya Magazine journalist Swati Goel Sharma.
Swarajya Magazine journalist Swati Goel Sharma visited Aligarh and talked to several people in the locality where the incident happened. During such interactions, she came across a woman who works as a sweeper. Narrating how the crime came to light, the woman said that she had discovered the body of the girl first.
When she spotted the body of the girl in a garbage dump, she started screaming. Hearing this, the locals came to the spot, but they accused her of throwing the body. They alleged that she took bribe and threw the body in the garbage dump. Someone said she took a bribe of Rs 50,000 while some others claimed she took Rs 10,000.
Attn @aligarhpolice, I must bring this to your notice. The sweeper who spotted the body in #AligarhChildMurder is being threatened by local Muslims. She says community has turned against her, and accusing her of taking bribe and throwing the body herself. She fears for her family pic.twitter.com/22RjQpbLwv
— Swati Goel Sharma (@swati_gs) June 11, 2019
She also added that she is living in fear after the incident, as they are putting pressure on her. They have said that she would not be allowed to work in the locality, the women told the journalist.
Talking to the journalist, locals said that they find it difficult to believe that someone will attack the minor girl so brutally only for a few thousand Rupees. They claim that the girl was made a target a sexual assault, and the monetary transaction was not a reason behind the same.
Why residents believe it was a case of sexual assault of minor pic.twitter.com/yfQbl5SnHh
— Swati Goel Sharma (@swati_gs) June 11, 2019
The residents also said that one of the accused Aslam, who is accused of raping his own minor daughter earlier, had no financial dealing with the family, and he is not even related the person who had financial dealings. Therefore, it had to be a pure sexual assault. They also said that Aslam had been boycotted by the society after he had raped his daughter and thrashed his wife.
The locals added that they felt that Aslam, who works as a mason, should not live in the locality due to his criminal nature. The residents had demanded that he should be sent away from the place, but some politicians took Aslam’s side and ensured that he stayed there.
