In yet another shocking incident reported from Unnao area of Uttar Pradesh, the bodies of two minor Dalit girls were found in a field on Wednesday evening while the third was found to be critical. ALSO READ | Farmers' Protest: Nationwide 'Rail Roko' Agitation On Thursday; Several Trains Being Cancelled, Diverted | Key Points
According to the reports, the three minor girls were found outside Baburaha village of Asoha area of Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh. Two of them were declared dead on arrival at the hospital while the third one has been referred to district hospital for treatment.
No signs of struggle are found at the site and no injury marks found prima facie on the girls. Hence, the Uttar Pradesh police suspect it to be a case of poisoning though the actual reason remain uncertain as of now.
Sources aware of the details informed that the two deceased girls are aged 13 and 16 while the third girl is said to be 17 years.
Unnao Superintendent of Police Anand Kulkarni said that three girls of the same family had left the house to take fodder for the animals at around 3 pm in Baburaha village. When the girls did not return till late evening, the started looking for them.
The victims may have been poisioned
The trio were found with their hands and feet tied up. The elder girls were sisters while the younger one was their cousin.
According to the police, the three girls had gone to their fields to cut grass on Wednesday afternoon. When they did not return till late evening, their family members went out to search for them and found them lying unconscious in the field.
The hands and feet of the girls were tied with their dupatta and they were frothing at the mouth, indicating that they had been given poison. Foam was seen at the crime site.
Their clothes, however, were intact.
The brother of the 16-year-old girl, in his statement to the police, said "I spotted my sister along with my two other cousins with their hands and legs tied."
Superintendent of Police, Unnao, Anand Kulkarni, told reporters that the three girls are cousins. "A white substance was oozing out of their mouths, and was visible, when the police teams reached there," he said.
The two bodies have been sent for post mortem.
Unnao shamed yet again
Family members have alleged murder. "Why would the girls tie their own hands and feet if they were committing suicide? It is a clear case of murder," said a family member.
Samajwadi Party MLC Sunil Singh Sajan, meanwhile, alleged that the Unnao police was trying to hush up the case. He has sought a probe by an independent agency in the matter.
"The incident proves that our daughters are not safe in this regime. Unnao, in the past three years, has witnessed a spate of similar incidents which is a matter of concern," he said.
ALSO READ | Watching Porn On Your Smartphone? Uttar Pradesh Govt Is Monitoring You
Reacting to the incident, Samajwadi Party MLC Sunil Sajan targeted CM Yogi Adityanath saying that the Unnao incident has once again embarrassed the entire state. He said that the daughters of backward and Dalit societies are not safe in Uttar Pradesh.
(With additional information from news agency IANS)