Lakhimpur Kheri: Bodies of two sisters found hanging from a tree

Dalit women
Image Courtesy: indiatoday.in

In a shocking incident that is reminiscent of not one but two previous instances of Dalit girls being victimized, the bodies of two sisters hailing from a Scheduled Caste were found hanging from a tree in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur district. Though sexual assault has not been confirmed so far, as the autopsy reports are still awaited, Jagran reports that the family has alleged that the girls were abducted and raped before being killed.

The case is thus being compared to the Hathras case.

2. यह घटना यूपी में कानून-व्यवस्था व महिला सुरक्षा आदि के मामले में सरकार के दावों की जबर्दस्त पोल खोलती है। हाथरस सहित ऐसे जघन्य अपराधों के मामलों में ज्यादातर लीपापोती होने से ही अपराधी बेखौफ हैं। यूपी सरकार अपनी नीति, कार्यप्रणाली व प्राथमिकताओं में आवश्यक सुधार करे। 2/2
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) September 15, 2022

निघासन पुलिस थाना क्षेत्र में 2 दलित बहनों को अगवा करने के बाद उनकी हत्या और उसके बाद पुलिस पर पिता का ये आरोप बेहद गंभीर है कि बिना पंचनामा और सहमति के उनका पोस्टमार्टम किया गया।
लखीमपुर में किसानों के बाद अब दलितों की हत्या ‘हाथरस की बेटी’ हत्याकांड की जघन्य पुनरावृत्ति है। pic.twitter.com/gFmea4bAUc
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) September 14, 2022

It is also similar to the Badaun case where the bodies of two Dalit girls were found hanging from a tree in May 2014. In that case too, the girls were minors.

What happened in Lakhimpur Kheri?

The incident took place in the Nighasan area of Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday. According to Jagran, the girls were aged 14 and 17, and were thus minors. Indian Express reports that a local villager discovered the bodies hanging from a tree in a sugarcane field in Tamoleen Purva village, located about half a kilometer from their home. Following this the family of the girls and angry villagers blocked roads demanding justice for the girls. The family of the girls has alleged that the girls were abducted three hours before their bodies were discovered.

The mother told media persons that she was sitting outside the house with the two girls at around 2 P.M. The publication quoted the girls’ mother as saying, “I went inside the house for some work. On return, I saw three youths forcibly taking away my daughters on a motorcycle. I ran after the motorcycle but failed to catch them.”

Four people have been arrested in connection with the case so far. Additional SP Arun Kumar Singh told the publication, “Four accused in the matter have been taken into custody. Interrogation is underway.”

However, India Today reports that the number of arrests has gone up to six. According to the publication, the girls were being pressured to marry two of the accused, who then raped them with four other accomplices.

Uttar Pradesh’s track record w.r.t crimes against people from Scheduled Castes

The incident has sent shockwaves across the state where crimes against Dalits have been on the rise. According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Uttar Pradesh has one of the highest rates of crimes against people hailing from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes. In 2019, UP reported 11,829 cases out of the total national figure of 45,961, thus accounting for over 25 percent of all crimes against people hailing from Scheduled Castes in India.

Shockingly, even a deadly global pandemic like Covid could not bring the numbers down, because as per NCRB’s data for 2020, out of the 50,291 cases of crimes against people from Scheduled Castes, 12,714 were recorded from Uttar Pradesh. This once again accounts for over a quarter of all crimes against SCs across India.

According to the latest report titled Crime In India 2021, while the national figure for cases of crimes against people hailing from Scheduled Castes stands at 50,900, the number of cases reported from Uttar Pradesh stands at 13,146. Again, Uttar Pradesh accounts for over 25 percent of all crimes against people from Scheduled Castes in the country.