The Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested two men in connection with the suicide of two Dalit girls in Farrukhabad after a case was registered against them on charges of abetment to suicide.
The accused, Pawan and Deepak, were detained following a complaint from the family members of the girls', aged 15 and 18, who were found hanging from a tree on August 27. Their arrests were registered after interrogation.
According to the FIR, the girls who were close friends and lived in the same neighbourhood used to talk to Pawan and Deepak.
They left their homes on August 26 around 10 pm to visit a nearby temple on the occasion of Janmashtami but did not return. Later, their bodies were found hanging with two stoles (dupatta) tied together.
The police recovered a SIM card from the clothes of the younger girl, and the investigation revealed that it belonged to Deepak.
According to the police, the girls used to talk to the accused for hours using this SIM card and would remove the SIM and format the call log after the calls. In the complaint, the father alleged that both boys used to harass his daughters.
The postmortem confirmed that the girls died by suicide, dismissing the family's allegation of murder. Senior police officials have confirmed that no injury marks were found on the bodies of either girl. However, the police are yet to identify the reason for the suicide.
The incident has led to widespread outrage with opposition parties targetting the ruling BJP government. The Samajwadi Party, Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party questioned the handling of the case and demanded justice for the victims.
