A week after disappearance and brutal murder of a 2-year-old girl in Aligarh, the Uttar Pradesh government finally woke up from its slumber and initiated action against some junior cops and constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the entire incident.
Local authorities also gave the assurance of slapping the National Security Act (NSA) on the accused and taking up the matter in a fast track court for speedy trial and conviction.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights said in New Delhi it had sought a report from the district police chief and would issue directions after examining the report.
However, all these steps were taken only after the incident drew widespread condemnation and outrage from politicos across party lines as well from some Bollywood stars. While Congress president Rahul Gandhi asked the UP police to “act swiftly to bring the killers to justice’” party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra condemned the incident as an “inhuman, unspeakable crime”.
“The horrific murder of a little girl in Aligarh, UP has shocked and disturbed me. How can any human being treat a child with such brutality? This terrible crime must not go unpunished. The UP police must act swiftly to bring the killers to justice,” tweeted Rahul.
“The brutal murder in Aligarh is yet another inhuman, unspeakable crime against an innocent child. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain her parents must feel. What has become of us?” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati described the brutal killing as “highly shameful and sad incident”.
“The Uttar Pradesh government should take stern action immediately to establish the rule of law in the state and put the guilty behind the bars,” she said in a statement issued in Lucknow.
Earlier in the day, noted Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar demanded public hanging of those involved in the brutal murder of a 2-year-old girl. “This case should be fast-tracked in the courts by daily hearings. Anyone can guess the inevitable and obvious verdict of any court on this most heinous crime possible . Wish he could be hanged publicly,” Akhtar said on micro-blogging site Twitter.
Meanwhile, five policemen, including a SHO, have been suspended for alleged negligence, five days after the mutilated body of the toddler was found in a garbage dump.
The policemen were suspended for alleged delay in registering the case after the girl was reported missing, and also for delaying the investigation which eventually led to the discovery of her body on June 2, officials said.
The toddler had gone missing from Tappal township on May 30. Her body was found three days later in a garbage dump near her house.
“Post-mortem examination has not found any sign of sexual assault. The report confirmed death due to strangulation,” police said.
Senior Superintendent of Police of Aligarh, Akash Kulhari, said there was no evidence of sexual assault. To a specific question, he said no charge under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act had been added so far.
Kulhari said vaginal swab and slides had been sent for examination to FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory). “Depending on the report, if it is established that sexual offence took place, a decision on (adding) POCSO Act will be taken,” he said.
In Lucknow, ADG (Law and Order) Anand Kumar said the body was sent for autopsy more than 72 hours after the death. “Entry of maggots have also been found,” he said.
Tappal police station officials registered the case on May 31, a day after the girl went missing. Two suspects have been arrested and police say the case is a fallout of a money-related dispute. The accused — Zahid and Aslam — have confessed to killing the girl after her father failed to return Rs 10,000 he had borrowed from them, police said in a statement.
Asked about the suspension of police officials, SSP Kulhari said that it was done on Thursday on the basis of the inquiry conducted by Circle Officer Pankaj Srivastava.
The girl’s father, Banwarilal Sharma, had threatened to go on fast unto death, demanding the arrest of the accused’s family members who, he said, “colluded” in the crime. The SSP met him and persuaded him against sitting on fast.
The SSP said he had assured Sharma that justice would be done in the case and the accused would be tried in a fast track court.
Proceedings have begun to charge the duo under the National Security Act, Kulhari said.
A six-member SIT has been formed to investigate the case and a female inspector has been appointed to carry forward the probe, he said.
Security measures at Tappal township, 50 kilometres from the district headquarters, have been tightened as a precautionary step after tension mounted there after recovery of the body.