The bodies of two girls – a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old – were found hanging from a tree in a village in the Kotwali area of Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district late Wednesday. They were allegedly forced to drink liquor and then sexually assaulted by the 18-year-old son and 19-year-old nephew of a local contractor.
The bodies have been sent for post-mortem and accused, including the contractor, 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.
“Last night, information regarding bodies of two girls was received. The bodies were recovered and sent for post-mortem. Three accused – distant relatives of the girls – have been arrested,” 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 cop said, adding forensic experts had swept the site where the bodies were found.
According to their families, the girls went to the fields late last evening to relieve themselves. Relatives went searching after they did not return, and found their bodies hanging from a nearby plum tree.
Police have been informed by the girls’ families that they were forced to drink alcohol before being raped.
Additionally, the girls’ families informed the police that the accused recorded the assault and used it as blackmail, claiming the girls’ pain and humiliation drove them to commit suicide. According to officials, the police have retrieved images and videos from the accused’s cell phones, and they are currently being reviewed.
The bodies of the two girls and their families were discovered less than 400 meters from the brick kiln that the contractor operated, according to news agency PTI.
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