The dead body of a 22-year-old Dalit girl was found in Barabanki on January 17. The case was initially reported as a case of rape and murder based on the complaints filed with the police. The incident took place in mustard farms in Bibipur, Zaidpur, Uttar Pradesh.
As per the police, there were injuries on the private parts of the girl. After learning about the incident, the police quickly initiated the investigation. Five teams were formed, and the administration ordered immediate action.
The incident was reported as ‘rape and murder’
During the investigation, the family told the police that the daughter had gone for defecation on the farm at 9 PM and did not come back. The next day, they found her naked body lying in a dense mustard field in Bibipur village. There were injury marks on her private parts. The Superintendent of Police formed five teams to investigate the matter.
Contradictions in statements and evidence
During the investigation, police noticed that there were many contradictions in the statements made by the family and the facts at the crime scene. The witnesses’ statements painted a different story. Reports suggest that police found slippers near the dead body, which was of number 4, but the victim’s foot size was 7. A villager said in the statement that the victim’s mother had come to his farm between 7:30 PM and 8:30 PM and informed him that the girl was missing. However, in her statement, the mother said that the girl went out to the fields for defecating at 9 PM.
The labourers working near the fields told the police that they saw the victim’s mother going to the same farm on the day of the incident, from where the police recovered a pair of slippers. The police noticed that the sandals were of the same size as the mother.
Post mortem found no evidence of rape
The post mortem examination on the body found no evidence of sexual violence, a fact that deepened the suspicion of the police that the family members might be behind the murder. When they strictly questioned the family members, they confessed to the murder. They told the police that the girl was mentally disabled, so they wanted to get rid of her. They noticed that in the previous rape and murder cases where Dalit girls were killed, the government had paid victims’ families compensation. The family decided to use the victim’s death to get compensation, so they planned the murder.
The mother of the victim took her to the farm late at night. The girl’s brother was already present in the field while the father was keeping an eye on the adjoining road. The mother held the feet of the girl while the brother strangulated her. The brother then hit her private parts with a stick to make it look like rape. They threw away the clothes to make it look like a case of rape and murder. He also tied a scarf on her neck.
The family tried to blame those who had friction with them
The police said that during the investigation, the family tried to blame the murder on those who had quarrels with the family. They subtly named several people who were thoroughly questioned by the police. As per the reports, they questioned around 70 people, including nearby farm owners, a few poultry farmers, labourers and many others.
The police have arrested the mother, father, and brother for the murder of the girl and initiated legal action against them.
