Representation Image

On the morning of September 10, a grim incident came to light. On their way to the fields, locals of the Sultanpur district of UP found the severely maimed, unclothed body of a girl hanging from a Eucalyptus tree with a stick inserted in her private parts.Locals say, it reminded them of the Nirbhaya case. The girl was strung up using a black dupatta.

Locals who discovered the girl’s body at around 6.30 AM, immediately alerted the police. On arriving, the police lowered her body from the tree, removed the stick and draped her with a cloth. On primary investigation, the police found some alcohol bottles and glasses around the area.

But in a possible display of wilful negligence, the police appeared to be causing unnecessary delays in the investigation citing the fact that the victim has not been identified as a stumbling block. Senior Inspector Satish Singh of KotwaliDehat police station said, “We are still in the process of identifying the victim while the alcohol bottles and glasses at the scene had been sent to the forensic lab.” He also mentioned that the police had not made any advancement in identifying suspects. This is what is the most shocking aspect of the investigation. Why should lack of information about the identity of the victim prevent the police from making any headway in determining the identity of the perpetrators?

Police Delayed Post-mortem?

Locals alleged that the police waited for 72 hours to conduct a post-mortem of the victim. In such grave medico-legal cases, it is imperative that the post-mortem be carried out within 24 hours of the incident for the risk of losing evidence. The post-mortem guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (GOI) state that the likelihood of finding evidence after 72 hours is greatly reduced. The doctors at the civil hospital at Sultanpur who conducted the post-mortem confirmed that the delay in did in fact lead to loss of crucial evidence.

Today, after 15 days of the heinous crime taking place, the police are still tight-lipped about the incident. SP Himanshu Kumar who is the primary investigating officer in the case said, “The death of the victim occurred due to strangulation. There is no other crime.”

However, the post-mortem report by AIIMS clearly states that the victim had multiple lacerations all over her body, with lacerations present on her eyes, nose, cheeks and rectum. The report also stated that the victim suffered from a contusion on her uterine surface indicating possible sexual assault. How then can the investigating officer claim there was no other crime?

Possible Cover-up?

Until the arrival of the police, villagers had recorded the grievous image on their mobile phones. However, according to a reporter present at the scene, the police asked the locals to delete the videos and images, fearing that if they spread it would cause an uproar among the public due to the brutal nature of the crime.

Sources deem the girl to not be a local since no one has come to claim her body.

With or without the Police

While the police are still obstinate about first determining the identity of the victim before determining the identity and modus operandi of the perpetrators, women’s groups and activist organizations have taken up the challenge of bringing the crime to light.

RooprekhaVerma, senior activist and ex-Vice Chancellor, Lucknow University, vehemently condemned the crime. She said, “It appears there is a concerted effort by the police to hush up the crime. This is evident from the manner in which the post-mortem was delayed.” She also gave other examples of police apathy saying, “When we representatives of five women’s organizations went to meet the Director General Police (DGP), we were told that he was busy and would remain unavailable. When we insisted on meeting any other senior member of the Crime Branch, we were directed to the public grievance cell instead! It is shocking even in case of such a heinous crime, no senior official is either willing or able to answer critical questions.”

The U.P. State Commission for Women (UPSCW) has taken cognisance of the matter and will raise it with the District Magistrate (DM) and the Superintendent of Police (SP).

Conclusion

Many rapes, especially of minors, either remain unsolved or are hushed up in rural areas often due to caste and class equations between the victims and perpetrators. What is notable in this case is not just how it is similar to the Nirbhaya case in terms of brutality, but also the Badaun rape case for the manner in which the body was disposed of.

It remains to be seen if pressure from activist groups and women’s organizations will yield any results or if this case too will die a silent death much like a similar case that locals allege took place in the same field just six months ago.

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