Police have arrested three persons for allegedly killing a 22-year-old Dalit woman whose body was found in a canal in Ayodhya on Saturday, February 1, officials said on Monday.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Raj Karan Nayar said the arrested the accused identified as Hari Ram Kori, Vijay Sahu and Digvijay Singh committed the crime under the influence of alcohol before dumping the unclothed body of the woman, who was missing since Thursday, in a desolate canal near her village.
The disrobed body of the young woman was found outside Sahnawa village of Ayodhya on Saturday.
The family members of the victim claimed her eyes were missing, and the body had deep wounds, fractures, and multiple cuts. They alleged her limbs were tied with ropes. Villagers who draped and transported the body noticed a fractured leg, while her elder sister and two women collapsed upon seeing its horrific condition.
The circle officer Ashutosh Tiwari stated that after receiving a complaint on Friday, police registered a missing report. He added that with the body now recovered, the autopsy report will confirm the veracity of the gang rape allegation.
Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad broke down in tears during a press conference on Sunday, February 2 vowing to resign if justice is not served for the Dalit woman who was raped and murdered in Ayodhya.
In a viral video, the Samajwadi Party MP is seen crying as fellow leaders attempt to console him, with one heard saying, “Keep up the fight.”
Awadhesh Prasad further stated “Let me go to Delhi—I will raise this in Lok Sabha and bring it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attention. If I fail to get justice, I will resign. This is our collective failure. How will history remember us?” said an inconsolable Prasad, adding, “Lord Ram, Mother Sita, where are you?”.
In a post in Hindi on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “The inhumanity and brutal murder of a Dalit girl in Ayodhya is heartbreaking and very shameful. If the administration had paid heed to the cry for help of the girl’s family that had been echoing for three days, perhaps her life could have been saved.”
“Another daughter’s life has ended due to this heinous crime. For how long and how many families will have to cry and suffer like this? The anti-Bahujan BJP rule, especially in Uttar Pradesh, is resulting in rising the heinous atrocities, injustices and murders of Dalits,” Gandhi said.
“Such cruel incidents shame the entire humanity. The girl was missing for three days but the police did nothing. In BJP’s Jungle Raj, no one is there to listen to the cries of Dalits, tribals, backward and poor. The UP government has become synonymous with atrocities on Dalits,” Priyanka Gandhi wrote.
Speaking on the case, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath shifted the blame to Samajwadi Party leaders stating the party’s persons might be involved in the rape case.
“An incident has occurred in Ayodhya, where a girl was harassed…A Samajwadi Party person is likely involved. I have come here today to make you aware and emphasize the importance of respecting and ensuring the safety of girls and honouring great leaders,” CM Yogi said.
With inputs from PTI
