UP: Twist In Farrukhabad Girls' Death As Families Cite Bruises To Challenge Cops' 'Suicide' Theory

The father of one of the deceased questioned the suicide claims made by the police, citing wounds on the body of the victim.

UP News: After the bodies of two teenage girls were found hanging from a tree in a mango orchard outside a village in Uttar Pradesh's Farrukhabad on Tuesday, family members have alleged that the girls were killed and later hanged. On the other hand, police prima facie is believed to be a case of double suicide.

The father of one of the deceased raised questions on suicide claims made by the police, citing wounds on the body of the victim.

"They (police) are saying that these girls died by suicide and hung themselves, but what about wounds on their bodies? They did not allow us to see the body. We saw the body only this morning. The police is asking us to cremate her as soon as possible. We are not demanding anything, we just want to know the truth," says the father of one of the deceased. 

The Dalit girls, aged 18 and 15, had left their homes on Monday around 10 pm to visit a nearby temple on the occasion of Janmashtami but did not return, police said, PTI reported. He further stated that both the girls were residents of the Bhagautipur village.

Father of the other deceased, Rambir, said that marks were seen on the body of the victim. "We have seen a few marks of injuries on the body. The report (postmortem) that we have got, we doubt that it is wrong. We demand a correct investigation and the culprit must be punished... FIR has not been registered. We are sure that the girls have been murdered... Police are saying that it is suicide but we don't agree with this version," he said.

The incident drew sharp criticism of law and order from the Samajwadi Party, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said it was time to put "women's safety above party politics" as he called for an "impartial" inquiry into the matter.

Superintendent of Police (Fathegarh) Alok Priyadarshi said the bodies were recovered outside a village in the Kayamganj police station area on Tuesday morning and a probe is underway in the matter.

"Upon being alerted about it, a local police team reached the spot for inspection. The girls are said to be 15 and 18 years old. They are said to be close friends and lived in the same neighbourhood. The bodies were hanging with two 'dupattas' which were tied together. The necks were tied at each end of the "dupatta" which went across the tree," Priyadarshi said, as quoted by PTI.

Prime facie it appears to be a case of suicide but the details could be ascertained only after the post-mortem report, he said. The district police chief said a mobile phone was found near the tree and a SIM card from the clothes of one of the girls. These recovered items have been sent for further probe so that other details could be obtained.