By PTI
PRAYAGRAJ: Four of the 11 accused in the murder of a Dalit family at a village here have been sent to jail in a separate case lodged by a relative of the victims, police said on Tuesday.
Four members of a Dalit family were brutally killed at Mohan Ganj Gohri village under Gohri village under the Phaphamau police station area of Prayagraj on the night of November 24.
Phoolchand (50), his wife Meenu Devi (45), daughter Sapna (17) and son Shiva (13) were murdered with sharp weapons while they were asleep.
According to police, the case was registered under the SC/ST Act in September this year by Phoolchand’s brother who accused the four accused — Akash Singh, Abhay Singh, Manish Singh and Ravi Singh — of molesting, assaulting and abusing.
The chargesheet in the case will be filed soon, the police officer said.
Meanwhile, police teams have gone to Pune and Lucknow in search of the absconding associates of prime accused Pawan Saroj, who was arrested on Sunday and sent to jail, police said, adding that after the murders, Saroj’s associate Gange fled to Pune, while his relative Sonu fled to Lucknow.
According to police, Saroj ‘belongs to the same community as the deceased’ and had been harassing the girl by sending messages on her mobile phone.
He was arrested on the basis of circumstantial evidence.
Earlier, Additional Director General of Police (Prayagraj Zone) Prem Prakash had said that on the basis of the test report, it has been confirmed that the girl was raped before being killed.
The incident has drawn sharp reactions from the opposition parties, who have criticised the government over the law and order situation while terming it “anti-Dalit”.
Following the outrage, Phaphamau police station incharge Ram Kewal Patel, and head constable Sushil Singh were suspended for not taking seriously a complaint of the victim’s family before the murder and dereliction of duty.
