A day after the killing of three Dalit sisters, two of them were minor, the Deoria police arrested three miscreants on Sunday. The victims were reported missing and later were found murdered. The prime accused are still absconding, however. The police arrested Dheeraj Gaur and Amresh alias loha on Sunday morning after their names surfaced in the case and the weapon used in the triple murder recovered. The police also arrested Ritesh who had given shelter to the accused in evading the police arrest.
The prime accused Sonu Harijan and Raj Kokil, both allegedly involved in the murder, are at large, and the police are hunting them. Floating the botched love affair angle, the police said the killings was a fallout of one-sided love tangle, SP, Deoria Manoj Kumar said eldest among the sisters Indu (18) was in love with one of the accused Sonu Harijan. He said bodies of Indu, along with her sisters Priti (9) and Pinky (14), were recovered from near Katiyari village on Saturday, a day after they went missing. “The bodies bore severe head injuries. The miscreants killed Indu's sisters to destroy evidence,” the SP said.
He said post-mortem was conducted by a panel of doctors, including two women experts and the report did not confirm rape. It may be noted that four persons, including Sonu, were accused of their involvement in the murder after the incident came to light. The incident stirred the local residents who strongly demonstrated while demanding Rs 50 lakh as financial assistance to the family of the victim. The ongoing protest got support and intensified further when Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Pl Punia met the family members of the girls and lambasted the state government alleging that there was complete 'jungle raj' in UP. He had assured the victims’ family to talk to the state government for increasing the financial help.
He had termed the incident as "unfortunate", and had said family members of the girls were very poor and had not been provided house under Indira Awas scheme. Meanwhile, the police heaved a sign of relief after the arrest of three suspects. But the failure in arresting of prime accused could not save them from facing public criticism. The residents alleged the police for opting sluggish mode in arrest of the prime accused.