Two neighbours confess to killing girl, five Aligarh cops suspended
As national outrage escalated over the brutal murder of a two-year-old girl whose mutilated body was found in a garbage dump near her house in Tappal township in Aligarh on June 2, the Uttar Pradesh Government on Friday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the horrific crime and suspended five policemen, including an SHO, for alleged delay in registering the case after the girl was reported missing since May 30.
Officials said the accused persons will be tried under the National Security Act (NSA) in a fast track court. Two arrested accused — Zahid and Aslam — have confessed to killing the toddler after her father failed to return Rs 10,000 he had borrowed from them, police said in a statement.
Replying to questions from reporters in Lucknow, ADG (Law and Order) Anand Kumar said, “The case will be fast tracked. POCSO will also be included in the FIR. As of now sexual assault is not ruled out.”
The girl’s father, Banwarilal Sharma, had threatened to go on fast unto death, demanding the arrest of the family members of the accused who, he said, “colluded” in the crime. However, Aligarh SSP Akash Kulhari on Friday met Sharma and persuaded him against sitting on fast and assured justice in a fast-track court. Proceedings have begun to charge Zahid and Aslam under the NSA, the SSP said.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has sought a report from the SSP and issued directions on examining the report.
The authorities swung into action only after the horrific incident drew widespread condemnation and outrage. Hashtags with the child’s name were trending on Twitter with an estimated 56,000 tweets on the brutal case that shook the nation.
While Congress president Rahul Gandhi asked the UP Police to “act swiftly to bring the killers to justice”, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi condemned the incident, calling it an “inhuman, unspeakable crime”.
“The horrific murder of a little girl in Aligarh 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 tweeted.
Bollywood celebrities too came together to demand capital punishment for the culprits. Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Javed Akhtar and Sunny Leone are among those who expressed their anguish at the brutal killing of the child.
BSP supremo Mayawati described the brutal killing as “highly shameful and sad incident.”The Uttar Pradesh Government should take strict action immediately to establish the rule of law in the State and put the guilty behind bars,” she said in a statement in Lucknow.
A six-member SIT has been formed to investigate the case and a female inspector had been appointed to carry forward the probe, he said. Security measures have been tightened as a precautionary step after tension mounted there after recovery of the body.