The state of Uttar Pradesh reports another cruel incident against females where a 50-year-old woman was gang-raped and murdered on Sunday night, allegedly by 3 men- a priest and his 2 associates.
The incident took place in Budaun district of western UP and 2 men have been taken into police custody so far while the other is absconding.
Monday morning’s visuals from the village showed the woman’s body lying on a cot in her home. Surrounded by her family and locals, the lower half of her body can be seen covered with a yellow cloth, which seems to be soaked in blood. Apart from this, one of her legs too appear to be broken and bent near the foot that was later proven in the autopsy.
According to the victim’s son, his mother left for the religious place she usually does at 5 pm and was brought back by the accused at 11.30 pm in a dead state. After leaving her body at the doorstep, they hurriedly went away, he said in the interview of Monday afternoon taken by the local media.
“They brought her on their own in a vehicle. She was dead when they left her here. The priest and others dropped her at the door and left quickly. On Sunday, she had left home around 5 pm and the men brought her back around 11:30 pm,” he said.
Despite opposing claims by the accused, post mortem results reveal injuries to the victim’s private parts while other wounds too directed at rape.
Dr. Yashpal Singh, the Chief Medical Officer of Budaun said, “The post mortem reports shows minor injuries to private parts, there are tears and she has a fracture on one of her legs. There was excessive bleeding and the bleeding led to shock and that led to the patient’s death. Prima facie we found evidence of rape,” Dr Yashpal Singh, Chief Medical Officer, Budaun, said.
The Budaun police’s official Twitter handle tweeted saying that 4 police teams have been formed to catch the 3rd accused. They also announced a cash reward of Rs. 25,000 against the accused.
The chief of Budaun police, Sankalp Sharma, too confirmed reports of the 2 arrests. He said that though there wasn’t any written complaint made before, the SHO has been suspended and the local policemen will have to face disciplinary action for not investigating the matter.
“The preliminary inquiry has found that the local police station in-charge was negligent in handling the case. I have ordered his suspension,” Mr Sharma said.
On Monday, the priest featured in a video where he was alleging that the woman had fallen into a well nearby and in fact he along with 2 other men had rescued her. He also claimed the woman to be alive at the time of leaving her at her home, “I brought two men to rescue her. We took her out of the well. She was alive. When we dropped her home, she was alive.”
The 3 accused, including the priest and his 2 disciples have been charged with sections 376 D and 306 of the Indian Penal Code. Police said further charges will be made post complete investigation of the matter. They added that as the woman was an Anganwadi worker, the family will be entitled to receive Rs. 70,000 as part of her LIC benefit apart from other assistance.
Speaking about the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath tweeted in Hindi, roughly translating to, “The incident of Badaun district is extremely condemnable. Stringent legal action will be taken against the accused. @adgzonebareilly has been directed to submit a report regarding the incident and to assist the UP-STF in deliberations. The culprits of this incident will not be spared at any cost.”
In order to understand the situation and case in-depth, Rekha Sharma, head of the National Commission for Women (NCW) said a team has been sent to the village. “We have taken cognisance of the matter. One NCW member is going to the spot to investigate the matter to meet the family and the police and take an exact stock of the situation,” she said.
The incident has once again brought light on the atrocities happening in the state of UP so often now with the Hathras case highlighting the need for swifter action against culprits. The Hathras incident had ignited massive outrage from across the country after a Dalit girl was gangraped and killed by 4 men from the so-called upper caste. The matter intensified after the local police cremated the body of the victim at 2 am without the permission of her family.
