On Wednesday, two teenaged Dalit girls were found dead in a field in the Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh. The police said it is a suspected case of poisoning. Another 17-year-old girl was also found from the same spot and was in critical condition.
The incident occurred in Babura village under the Asoha police station in Unnao district. The girls had gone to bring fodder for their cattle. When they did not return by evening, some family members went looking for them, and found them lying in their field in an unconscious state, the police said.
Doctors declared two of them dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. The third girl was referred to the district hospital.
There was some white substance coming out of their mouth and doctors have said there were symptoms of poisoning, Unnao Superintendent of Police Sureshrao Kulkarni told. We are recording statements of all the people concerned and an in-depth probe is being conducted. Necessary action will be taken.
The girl’s brother alleged that they were found with their hands and feet tied up. We found them tied up with clothes like their chunni, he added.
The police, however, said that the prima facie did not find any injury marks on the girls or signs of struggle at the site where they were found. Inspector General (Lucknow Range) Laxmi Singh told that they were yet to confirm if the girls were tied up. The brother has given a statement saying this, but we can’t say anything because the bodies were removed before the police reached the spot, Singh said.
The girl’s brother Vishal also told that the family did not suspect anyone in particular. We did not have any enmity with anyone, he said.
The police added that the bodies of the girls had been sent for postmortem examinations and an investigation was underway. With Inputs from Scroll