Two arrested after minor girl gangraped, committed suicide

Bareilly: The 16-year-old girl whose body was found hanging from a tree on May 28 in a village under Kheri police station of Lakhimpur district had committed suicide after she was gangraped, said police on Sunday, claiming to have cracked the case.

Police further claimed to have arrested two people for gangraping the teenager and abetting her to take the extreme step.

According to police, the girl, a Class IX student, had left home on May 27 evening to relieve herself, but didn’t return and her body was found hanging from a tree the next morning.

The girl’s brother alleged that she was killed and lodged a complaint of murder against Nitin Verma, Vishal Raj and their unidentified accomplices.

Station house officer (SHO) of Kheri police station Chandrakant Singh said, “During investigation, it came to light that on May 27, Nitin Verma (19) and his brother-in-law Rinku Verma had visited the victim’s village to attend a cultural event. As Nitin was acquainted with the girl, she went to meet him near culvert, where Bhola, alias, Jaishankar Kashyap (20), and few other youths were also present.

“Later, she went to a toilet constructed near a school, where Nitin followed her and raped her. However, as Bhola reached the spot, on seeing him there, Nitin fled the spot and Bhola also raped the girl and left after threatening the girl. Upset and humiliated by the act, she hanged herself from a tree with the help of her dupatta.”

After police arrested Nitin and Bhola on Sunday, they changed the existing FIR and booked the duo under sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 376 D (gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.