6 men arrested for rape, murder of 2 Dalit sisters in UP

ANI

Lakhimpur Kheri, September 15

Six men have been arrested for the rape and murder of two Dalit sisters in Lakhimpur Kheri.

The main accused, Chhotu Gautam, has confessed that he wanted to marry one of the girls but when she refused, he, and his friends, abducted the girls, raped and murdered them before hanging their bodies from a tree.

The two minor sisters, belonging to the Scheduled Caste community, were found hanging from a tree at Lalpur Majra Tamoli Purva village under Nighasan police station of Lakhimpur Kheri district on Wednesday evening.

Locals and the girls’ family staged a protest and blocked the road demanding justice for the victims.

The family of the deceased accused three men of rape and murder and staged a demonstration at the Nighasan crossing, a few kilometres from the village.

Lakhimpur Kheri SP Sanjiv Suman, along with the police force, rushed to the protest site and assured villagers that strict action would be taken against the accused.

Lucknow range IG Laxmi Singh said, “The bodies of two girls were found hanging from a tree in a field outside a village in Lakhimpur Kheri. No injuries were found on the bodies.”

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem.

Meanwhile, the Congress has questioned the law and order in the state.

Expressing grief, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the state government saying the incident is heart-wrenching.