Dalit Girl Raped And Killed In Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki District: Report

A Dalit girl was allegedly raped and strangled in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki district on Wednesday. The girl’s family said that she had left the house to harvest crops. When she failed to return home, her father went out searching for her and found her dead body in a paddy field.

Reportedly, the police have detained four suspects in the case and are questioning them. There is some confusion regarding the deceased girl's age as per media reports. While her family claims that she was 17 years old, the local police said that the family’s oral complaint mentioned that the girl was 18 years old.

The Dalit girl was the eldest among four siblings. As per the girl’s father, she went to the paddy fields on the day of the incident to harvest crops. After she did not return home till late evening, her father went out to search for her. He told The Indian Express, “ I went to the field and saw her slippers. A little ahead, I found her lifeless body.” The post-mortem report confirmed that the girl had been sexually assaulted.

Reportedly, the family initially refused to cremate the girl’s body. However, they eventually carried out the cremation on Thursday after the police assured them of proper investigation and justice.

Also Read: Uttar Pradesh Suicides: 15-year old girl ends life after three men molest her

What You Should Know: 

• A Dalit girl was allegedly raped and strangled in Barabanki.
• As per media reports, there is some confusion over whether the girl was a minor or an adult. 
• Currently, the police have detained four suspects in the case and are questioning them.

Also Read: Uttar Pradesh Fails Again: 11-Year-Old Girl Murdered, Head Crushed With Bricks

The incident took place in a village that comes under the jurisdiction of the Satrikh Police Station. Additional Superintendent of Police (Barabanki) Ram Sewak Gautam said, “On Wednesday, the FIR was registered under section 302 of the IPC. On Thursday, we have added section 376 (rape) of the IPC based on the postmortem report."

Furthermore, Sanjeev Gupta, Inspector General of Police (Ayodhya Range) clarified that the discrepancies in the deceased girl’s age would not affect the investigation.

Crimes Against Dalit Women In Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh has witnessed many cases of crime against Dalit women in the recent past. On September 14, 2020, four upper-caste men allegedly gangraped a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras. The woman eventually succumbed to her injuries on September 29 at Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital.

Also Read: Another Hathras: Young Dalit Woman Drugged And Gangraped In Uttar Pradesh, Dies

Earlier this week, three minor Dalit girls were attacked with an unknown chemical in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district. Reportedly, the incident took place as they were sleeping in their house. Read more about it here.

Tarini Gandhiok is an intern with SheThePeople.TV