Days after two young girls were found hanging from a tree in Badaun in Uttar Pradesh after being raped, another teen has been found hanging from a tree a two-hour drive away in the area of Moradabad.
The 16-year-old’s family alleges she was raped and murdered after she went missing last evening.
As news of the latest shocking assault on a young woman broke, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was pitching his state to potential investors in Delhi. He is scheduled to meet with the Prime Minister this evening.
The young leader and his government have drawn scathing criticism for the lawlessness in his state. In less than 10 days, three BJP leaders have been shot at in Uttar Pradesh -two of them have died. (BJP Leader Shot in UP, in Critical Condition)
Yesterday, speaking for the first time on the issue of women’s safety since that heinous murder, the Prime Minister said that “Respecting and protecting women should be priority of the 1.25 billion people in this country.” (Stop Analysing Psychology Behind Rape: PM )
But yesterday, a 45-year-old woman was found hanged from a tree near the Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh. Police have opened a murder investigation and await the findings of a post-mortem to determine whether the victim was raped before her death.( Woman Found Hanging from Tree in UP, Family Alleges Gang-Rape)
With brute force, the Badaun case exposed the vulnerability of women in Uttar Pradesh. Relatives refused to allow the bodies of the girls, aged 14 and 15, to be cut down from a village mango tree until police took up the case. Three suspects have been arrested and two policemen held on suspicion of attempting to cover up the crime.
The double killing of the cousins was reported internationally. Their families claimed police initially failed to take action because they were from a low caste. The case has been handed over to the CBI; 20 officials including forensic experts from the top investigating agency will visit Badaun tomorrow to begin their inquiry.
(via NDTV)
