A 16-year-old Dalit girl in Uttar Pradesh's Mahoba, 230 kilometres from Lucknow, was allegedly gang raped and murdered by three men who had been harassing her, police said today. The victim, a Class 12 student, had gone to buy groceries on Saturday last week but didn't return; her body was found hanging from a tree the next day. The accused have been arrested.
The victim's family has alleged that she was being harassed by a youth in their locality, and the body was hanged from the tree after gang rape and murder.
"They took my daughter by force...hanged her...killed her," the victim's mother told NDTV. She also accused three locals - "Bhoora, Tarun, Bhupendra" - for the alleged crime.
Her family has alleged that the accused were upset because she opposed the harassment.
The police have registered a case under laws that deal with kidnapping, gang rape, atrocities against Dalits and murder.
"They (the victim's family) lodged the complaint today. We have arrested the accused named by them. We are investigating the case," said RS Gautam, a senior police officer.
The incident comes months after the alleged gang rape and murder of a 20-year-old Dalit woman in UP's Hathras. Her horrific injuries, topped by the UP police handling of the case -- especially the move to cremate her body at 2 am keeping her family locked up -- had evoked outrage across the nation. The CBI has been investigating the case.
