By Express News Service
LUCKNOW: Two months after a 22-year-old Dalit woman went missing, the police exhumed her body from a septic tank near an ashram owned by the son of a former Samajwadi Party minister in Unnao district. Rajol Singh, the son of former SP minister late Fateh Bahadur Singh, was arrested on January 24 in connection with the alleged abduction of the woman and was being interrogated, said police.
The victim was strangulated to death, the autopsy said, adding that her neck was broken. It added that she was assaulted and two head injuries were noticed. The local SHO, meanwhile, was suspended for alleged laxity in the probe.
On Thursday, a SWAT team had dug out the body which was found buried 4 ft under the ground. The district magistrate and the SSP of Unnao had met the family of the victim. The victim’s mother had attempted immolation in front of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s vehicle in Lucknow on January 25. She had alleged that the SP leader’s son had abducted her daughter and had kept her captive.
Alleging laxity by SHO Akhilesh Chandra Pandey, the mother on Friday sought an appointment with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath saying that she was not satisfied with the police probe. She suspects her daughter was violated before being silenced. “The officials said that she ran away from home and that she will return soon. The officials did not even let us meet the SP,” she said.
Addl SP (Unnao) Shashi Shekhar Singh said that the FIR was lodged on January 10 on the basis of the missing complaint filed on December 8. “Investigation is in progress. Based on the probe findings, the body was recovered. Further strictest action will be initiated against the culprit,” he said.
उन्नाव जिले में सपा नेता के खेत में दलित युवती का दफनाया हुआ शव बरामद होना अति-दुःखद व गंभीर मामला। परिवार वाले पहले से ही उसके अपहरण व हत्या को लेकर सपा नेता पर शक कर रहे थे। राज्य सरकार पीड़ित परिवार को न्याय दिलाने के लिए दोषियों के खिलाफ तुरन्त सख्त कानूनी कार्रवाई करे।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) February 11, 2022
Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati lashed out at the Samajwadi Party over the death of the woman. “The family had been suspecting the SP leader in the abduction and murder. The government should immediately take strict action against the culprits and get justice for the victim’s family,” she tweeted.
