3rd person held over murder of 2 Indian teens
POLICE arrested a third suspect and hunted for two others yesterday in the gang rape and slaying of two teenage cousins found hanging from a tree in northern India, a case that has prompted national outrage.
The three suspects detained in the attack in Uttar Pradesh state are cousins in their 20s, and they face murder and rape charges, crimes punishable by death, police said.
Two fugitives from the same village are also being sought.
Facing growing criticism for a series of rapes, authorities in Uttar Pradesh — which has a reputation for lawlessness — arrested two police officers and fired two others on Friday for failing to investigate when the father of one of the teens reported the girls missing.
India has a history of tolerance for sexual violence. But the rape, which was followed by TV footage showing the corpses of the 14- and 15-year-old girls swaying as they hung from a tree, triggered outrage. Sohan Lal, the father who reported the girls missing, has demanded a federal probe.
“I don’t expect justice from the state government, as state police officers shielded the suspects,” said Lal, a poor farm laborer who refused to accept a payment for 500,000 rupees (US$8,500) offered by the state government as financial help.
He said yesterday he would accept no financial assistance until the Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s FBI, takes over the investigation.
Such payments are common in India when poor families face high-profile calamities, and Lal’s refusal was likely to focus attention on his demands for an investigation.
With pressure mounting on the state to act swiftly, Akhilesh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh’s top elected official, said he was calling on the federal government for a probe by the CBI.
Rahul Gandhi, a leader of the opposition Congress party, visited the families of the two girls yesterday and endorsed the demand for a federal investigation.
Members of the All India Democratic Women’s Association yesterday marched through the streets of New Delhi, India’s capital, demanding the immediate arrest of the two fugitive suspects and justice for the victims.
“Enough is enough. Women will not tolerate such atrocities any longer,” they chanted.
Ashish Gupta, a state inspector-general of police, pointed out to journalists that 10 rapes are reported every day in Uttar Pradesh, which has 200 million people and is India’s most populous state. Gupta said 60 percent of such crimes happen when women go into the fields because their homes have no toilets.
Also in Uttar Pradesh state, police on Thursday arrested three men for attacking the mother of a rape victim after she refused to withdraw her complaint. The assault followed the May 11 rape of a teenage girl.
The arrests were made after the mother filed a complaint.
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