The Congress has taken to task the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh over the gang-rape and murder of a minor girl in Lakhimpur Kheri.
The body of the 13-year-old girl was found in the fields in Pakariya village under Isanagar police station on Friday night. The police has made two arrests and slapped the National Security Act on the accused.
There were initial reports that the eyes of the victim had been gouged out and that her tongue had been cut off, but these have been denied by the police.
Satyendra Kumar, the SP of Lakhimpur, said, “The postmortem has revealed that the girl was strangled and murdered. The body was found in the fields of one of the accused”.
An FIR has been lodged under Sections 301, 302 and 396 of the Indian Penal Act and the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
Addressing the media on Sunday, Congress state chief Ajay Kumar Lallu said, “Violence against women and children is at its peak. Atrocities against women have rocked the state. In Yogi’s Ram rajya, there is no respite on heinous crimes against innocent girls”.
Lallu said, “The gang-rape of a minor in Lakhimpur, her murder and the brutality she was subjected to have ashamed the entire state. The women are doomed to self-immolate in front of the corridors of power as they don’t get justice even after moving from pillar to post”.
Listing the recent crimes against women in the state, Lallu said, “The rule of law is over. A girl student lost her life during the incident of eve-teasing. Everyone remembers how journalist Vikram Joshi lost his life for saving his niece from the cruelty of criminals. Only recently, a girl tried to commit self-immolation after being fed up with the police behaviour. Police are torturing women instead of saving them against acts of crime. Goons are ruling the streets”.
Earlier, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati had tweeted, “The rape and murder a dalit minor girl at Pakariya village in UP's Lakhimpur is extremely sad and shameful. What is the difference between the BJP government and the previous SP government if such incidents keep happening? The BSP demands strict action against the culprits.”
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted, “Crime is unbridled in the state. The government has failed to reign in crime even during the lockdown”.