A minor Dalit girl was found dead in a village in Akrabad tehsil of Aligarh on Sunday after she went to collect fodder for cattle in the fields, police said.
Locals feel that the 17-year-old was raped and killed. The police have registered a case against unidentified persons for rape and murder.
When a police team went to take the body for post-mortem, angry villagers blocked their way by setting fodder on fire. The SHO of the Gangiri police station was injured in pelting of stones by women. Late night, the body was taken to Aligarh for post-mortem.
The girl had gone out on Sunday morning. When she didn’t return till afternoon, villagers started searching for her. Her body was found in a wheat field around one km from the village. Locals alleged that her clothes were disturbed and it seemed she was strangulated.
Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police Muniraj P said an FIR had been registered against unidentified persons for rape and murder of the victim. “ Prima facie , it seems a case of murder. Other details would be clear after the post-mortem report. We have detained some locals for questioning and would soon solve the case.”
The SHO received minor injuries when he was heckled by the angry villagers. “It took some time to pacify the villagers. Now, we are getting their support,” Mr. Muniraj said.
There was no delay in response as the SHO of Akrabad reached the spot as soon as he received the information. “SHOs of five other police stations, along with force, were also rushed to the spot,” he said, adding that senior officials of the Aligarh range also visited the spot.
Physically challenged
Local sources said the girl’s parents lived in Aligarh and that she was living at her maternal grandmother’s village for five-six years. The family members have said that the girl was physically challenged and had trouble speaking and hearing clearly and it could have been misused by the perpetrators.
Shubham Patel, SP (rural), said they had been told by family members that the girl was speech-impaired. A large crowd gathered at the post-mortem facility in Aligarh on Monday.
Mr. Patel said many of those present were politically motivated. “We are working with villagers. There was some resistance last night but after we ensured them that a fair probe and post-mortem is necessary, they relented,” he added.
