Two girls found hanged in Uttar Pradesh said to have committed suicide
Two cousins, reportedly from a low caste, were found hanged from a mango tree in Badaun district in May. They were 14 and 15 years old and allegedly sexually assaulted then hanged.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) however announced the victims committed suicide and were not sexually assaulted at all. This follows an investigation that lasted months after the case sparked global outcry.
Three men held in relation to the case were released on bail, meanwhile it is unclear as to why the girls would have committed suicide. Women’s rights activists were unhappy with the announcement and urge the CBI to continue the investigation.
Suspicion has been raised regarding the latest announcement, Sohan Lal, father of one of the girls said, “CBI has tried to fudge the case and save the accused from the very beginning,”
“I am very angry with their decision. The team did not show any promptness while investigating the case.”
The teenagers reportedly went into a nearby field in the middle of the night to relieve themselves, as there were no toilets in their home. They were found the next day hanging, local post-mortem results confirmed multiple sexual assaults and death by hanging.
However forensic tests have revealed that they were not sexually assaulted, the CBI said,
“Based on around 40 scientific reports the CBI has concluded that the two minor girls in the Badaun case had not been raped and murdered as had been alleged in the FIR [first information report],” CBI spokeswoman Kanchan Prasad said on Thursday.
“Investigation has concluded that it is a case of suicide.”
Many questions have been raised around the death of the girls, officials questioned the testimony of the victims’ families, claiming they failed lie-detector tests. The credibility of neighbours and witnesses has also been criticised, it is also stated that the CBI did not trust the local police’s initial investigation.
In September a court bailed the three accused after federal investigators cited lack of evidence. Two constables, who were also arrested along with the accused and charged with dereliction of duty and criminal conspiracy for not taking the parents’ complaint seriously, were also bailed in the same month.
