In a gruesome incident, the dead body of a 7-year-old girl was recovered from a sugarcane field in Singhawali Ahir village in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh.
As per reports, the child went missing from her house on Saturday evening. At around 10:30 pm in the night, her naked body was found in a nearby sugarcane field. She had several injuries on her body. After receiving information, the police rushed to the spot and sent the body for post-mortem. The family members have accused their neighbour Manoj and his wife of the crime.
The police registered a case under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 201 (Disappearance of evidence) and 301 (murder). The cops took Manoj under their custody and initiated a probe in the case. The family members had demanded compensation from the government and refused to cremate the deceased until strong action is taken against the accused. Overwhelmed by grief and lack of assurance by the district administration, the victim’s father had attempted to kill himself twice through electrocution.
Social media users claim victim was raped
However, after the matter came to light, several social media users began peddling the ‘rape angle.’ One Imran_Speaks wrote, “7-year-old girl, who had been to Mandir, was raped and murdered in sugarcane farm. What’s her crime? We hear the news, we just swipe the next, it doesn’t boil ur blood bcs it’s not ur girl or not in ur state. Women aren’t safe in India.”
Another user tweeted, “Please also remember there’s a new rape victim in UP, this time in Baghpat. She is 6 years old. Of course, the law will take its own course. Don’t you feel safe already.”
Other rumour mongers claimed that the victim was a Dalit and how hate crimes against women and Dalits are increasing day by day. Reiterating that women are not safe in India, they went on to either directly claim that the victim was raped or that there was a ‘possibility of rape.’
“#Horror Murdered 07-year-old innocent Dalit girl in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. There is a possibility of rape,”tweeted The Dalit Voice.
Post-mortem report finds no signs of rape/sexual assault
However, the post-mortem conducted on the deceased found no signs of rape or sexual assault. In a statement released by the Baghpat police, it said, “The autopsy was done by a panel of doctors. The post-mortem did not confirm rape or any sexual assault. However, the report prepared by the doctors found ante mortem (caused before death) injuries by a wild animal. We are doing the necessary investigation.”
— Baghpat Police (@baghpatpolice) February 21, 2021
मीडिया संस्थानों ने बागपत में बच्ची से दुष्कर्म के बाद हत्या का दावा किया है।#InfoUPFactCheck: यह दावा गलत है। इस संदर्भ में बागपत पुलिस द्वारा अवगत कराया गया है कि पोस्टमॉर्टम रिपोर्ट के अनुसार बच्ची की दु:खद मृत्यु जंगली जानवर के हमले से हुई है। pic.twitter.com/mwjFjgtud0
— Info Uttar Pradesh Fact Check (@InfoUPFactCheck) February 21, 2021
Police Chief (Baghpat) Abhishek Singh informed that the cause of the victim’s death is ‘shock and haemorrhage due to ante mortem injuries’. He said that the injuries were caused due to animal bite. Singh added that the post-mortem of the girl’s dead body was done in the night, given the sensitive nature of the case. He also requested everyone to not engage in rumour-mongering.
