Kanpur: Two Girls' Bodies Found Hanging In Tree; Families Allege Rape

The bodies of two teenage girls were found hanging in trees in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur on February 28. The 16-year-old and 14-year-old were allegedly forced to drink alcohol and sexually assaulted by two of their distant relatives. The accused are the 18-year-old son and 19-year-old local contracted, all three of whom have been arrested. They could face charges of gang rape and abetment of suicide, as well as those under the POCSO Act, the police said.

According to the Press Trust of India, Harish Chander, Additional Police Commissioner (Law and Order), said, "It has been said the girls were beaten and, based on some videos, were sexually assaulted." The senior officer added that the bodies had been sent for a post mortem and forensic experts had swept the site.

Two Girls Sexually Assaulted, Driven To Suicide

The family members of the two teenagers told the police that the girls had gone to the fields late at night on February 28 to relieve themselves. However, when they did not return for long, they went searching for them and found their bodies hanging in a plum tree. The families told the police that they were forced to drink alcohol and sexually assaulted. 

The family, who work at a brick kiln, also alleged that the accused had sexually assaulted them, filed a video, and used it to blackmail them, which drove them to take their own lives. The police have recovered videos and photographs from the mobile phones of the accused and these are being examined, officials said.

The three accused-- Nishad (48), his son Raju (18) and nephew Sanjay (19)-- have been arrested and investigations are underway. "The three arrested are distant relatives of the deceased girls. It has been told that the girls were beaten and sexually assaulted," ACP Chandra told the Press Trust of India.

Recent Similar Case

In a recent similar case, 20 women from Sirohi, Rajasthan, were allegedly gang-raped under the guise of giving them jobs in Anganwadis. A woman from Pali approached the police to report that she and 19 other women had been raped and videotaped. The woman claimed that the video was being used to blackmail them. A case has been filed against the chairperson of the Sirohi Municipal Council in Rajasthan, Mahendra Mevada, and the former municipal council Commissioner, Mahendra Choudhary.