Farrukhabad: The Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested two suspects in connection with the deaths of two teenage girls in Bhagautipur village in Farrukhabad. The suspects, identified as Deepak and Pawan, were taken into custody Thursday night. The girls were allegedly involved in relationships with the suspects and had been in regular contact with them via a phone, ThePrint has learnt.
On the morning of 27 August, the bodies of two Dalit girls, Babli (17) and Shashi (15), were found hanging from a tree in Bhagautipur.
On Wednesday, after the post-mortem report was released, the police ruled out the possibility of murder and rape in the case. The report confirmed their theory of suicide, stating that the cause of death was asphyxiation due to hanging. The girls’ families, however, disputed the police and post-mortem report claims and questioned the police investigation.
Speaking to ThePrint, Farrukhabad SP Alok Priyadarshi stated that crucial evidence was recovered from a SIM card found on Shashi at the crime scene. This evidence led to the questioning of the suspects, revealing that they had been in contact with the girls through phone calls for several months. Priyadarshi also mentioned that Deepak had been in contact with another girl from the village.
“The two had talked about breaking up with Babli and Shashi, and heartbroken, the two girls committed suicide,” SP Priyadarshi said.
On Thursday night at around 10 pm, Babli’s father Ramveer, and Shashi’s father Mahendra alias Pappu, submitted a joint complaint to SP Priyadarshi, alleging that Deepak (23) and Pawan (21) were “harassing” their daughters. The police have registered a case against both accused under Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
According to the FIR, accessed by ThePrint, Deepak is from Bhainsar village, and Pawan is from Bhagautipur. Farrukhabad SP Priyadarshi said that Deepak works as a tailor, while Pawan was formerly an apprentice in Deepak’s shop. The FIR also reveals that the SIM card found at the crime scene is registered in Deepak’s name and was used for communication between Deepak, Pawan, Shashi, and Babli.
“Both of them had been harassing the complainants’ daughters. The complainants did not [initially] file the complaint at that time due to their grief over their daughters’ deaths (sic),” the FIR said.
On the night of 26 August, the two girls had gone to attend Janmashtami celebrations in the village, but never returned. Babli’s mother Meera recalls waking up at 1.30 am and seeing that while all her other children had returned from the festivities, Babli was missing. A search began, and the next morning around 5.30 am, a villager discovered the girls’ bodies hanging. Ramveer and Mahendra identified their daughters at the scene.
‘No knowledge of the affair’
Babli’s father Ramveer claimed that he had no knowledge of his daughter’s relationship with Deepak. He mentioned that Thursday morning, he received a call from Farrukhabad Police for questioning. During this time, the police informed him they had taken two people into custody. Ramveer added that the police had all the call details by then.
Ramveer, who had previously raised doubts about the investigation, has now expressed “satisfaction” with the police’s actions.
“Our numbers were also saved in those men’s phones. I had no knowledge about this,” he said to ThePrint.
According to Ramveer, Deepak had bought a SIM card a few months ago and gave it to Pawan, who then gave it to Shashi to use. He said that the girls didn’t have a phone, but would use a family member’s phone to talk to the two men using this sim card.
Ramveer added that on the day of the incident, the girls were in contact with the boys from around 11.30 pm to 12.30 am.
He said he asked Deepak and Pawn about their conversations with Babli and Shashi, who said that on Janmashtami, the girls had met them and then left.
SP Priyadarshi said further investigation is ongoing.
If you are feeling suicidal or depressed, please call a helpline number in your state.
http://www.aasra.info/helpline.html
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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