Saturday, January 8, 2011

[ZESTCaste] Moradabad Dalit girls’ death: Suicide, not mob attack, say cops

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/moradabad-dalit-girls-death-suicide-not-mob-attack-say-cops/734986/

Moradabad Dalit girls' death: Suicide, not mob attack, say cops
Bhupendra Pandey Posted online: Sat Jan 08 2011, 03:16 hrs
Lucknow : Three arrested for abetment, SHO shifted for 'inaction'

The investigation into the death of two Dalit sisters burnt alive in a
room of their Moradabad home on December 18 has shown no evidence of a
mob attack, as alleged by their mother.

The police has concluded that the girls committed suicide, unable to
bear the harassment and taunts of neighbours over the arrest for their
brothers for murder.

The Moradabad DIG, Ashok Kumar Singh, said the SHO of City Kotwali
police station, Brahmapal Singh, had been shifted. The Assistant
Superintendent of Police, Vinod Kumar Singh, who investigated the
case, had recommended action against the SHO and the beat-in charge of
Kothiwal Nagar locality for not initiating action over the harassment
of the family.

The police also arrested three persons, one of them a woman. Senior
sub-inspector of City Kotwali police station, Om Prakash Singh, said
Satish Madan, Vinay Badula and Saniya Kohli had been arrested under
Section 306 IPC (abetment of suicide) and Prevention of Atrocities on
SC/ST Act.

He said they are held responsible for harassing the Dalit girls and
her mother, driving the sisters to suicide. A case of murder was
registered after Rajjo Devi, the mother of Geeta and Neetu alias Monu,
had alleged that a mob had attacked her house, locked her up in a room
and burnt alive her daughters.

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has summoned
senior district officers in connection with the incident on January
10.

A senior police officer said they have found evidence which shows that
the girls had committed suicide. The postmortem did not show any
ante-mortem injury, which were likely in case of a mob attack.
Forensic tests showed that no one but the girls was present in the
room at the time.

The findings are part of a preliminary report which will be submitted
before the NCSC. The report also contains the statements of two
constables and the four locals who first reached the spot and saw the
bodies after breaking into the room, the official said.

Rajjo Devi, however, still maintains that a mob had stormed into her
house and set her daughters on fire, said the officer. Besides the
NCSC, the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) had sent
teams to conduct inquiries into the incident. Both had blamed the
district administration for its failure to save Rajjo Devi and her
daughters from harassment after the arrest of her sons. In particular,
they blamed the DIG, SP (City), CO (City) and the SHO.

The NCSC Chairman, PL Punia, had also visited the spot on December 29
after the visit of NCSC members Raju Parmar and NCSK member Swaraj
Jeevan. Punia said the girls had been killed.

Rajjo Devi's sons, Rakesh and Rajesh, had been framed in a case of
robbery and murder. The case against Rakesh and Rajesh was registered
after a local, Pankaj Gagneja, lodged a complaint alleging that they
had robbed valuables from his house after killing his wife Pooja and
daughter Sania on December 9.


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