CBI closes Badaun case as suicide

Mangalore Today News Network

Uttar Pradesh, Dec 12, 2014: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a closure report in the death of two teenage cousins in Badaun in western Uttar Pradesh, ruling out murder and rape while concluding that it was a case of suicide.

 

The incident had created an outrage against the Akhilesh Yadav government in the state after it was suspected that the girls were raped before being murdered.

The agency, in its final report, stated that there was no forensic or circumstantial evidence suggesting rape and murder as alleged in the FIR registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police after the bodies of the two girls were found hanging from a tree in May earlier this year.

The agency concluded that the two girls committed suicide fearing a backlash from the family as relations of the elder girl with a local boy from a different caste had come light. The report also mentions the questionable actions of the girls’ father’s, uncles and the main witness Nazru, a distant relative. All of them had left it to the court to take further action on the case, sources said.

The bodies of the two cousins, both around 14 years of age, were found hanging in an orchard on May 28. The girls’ families had alleged that they were kidnapped and murdered by five youths from the village.

The gruesome incident sparked a widespread outcry in the country and abroad with questions being raised over law and order situation in the state. Even United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had expressed concern over the incident and the prevailing situation in the state.

The CBI said there was no evidence of rape or murder as there was no sign of struggle on their clothes and bodies. The agency said forensic analysis also revealed that there was no male DNA or sperm found on their bodies. The investigation agency closed the probe while dropping of charges against - Pappu, Awadhesh and Urvesh Yadav (brothers) and constables Chhatrapal Yadav and Sarvesh Yadav - who were named as accused by the state police for the alleged rape and murder of the girls.

However, sources said a recommendation to initiate an investigation against state police officers for botched up handling of the probe will be made. The case will also serve as an example of how the process of postmortem can be improved to help investigators arrive at correct conclusions, the sources added.

The theory of rape and murder fell flat in view of the findings of forensic reports received from a three-member medical board, Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, FSL, Gandhinagar among others.

Based on around 40 scientific reports, the CBI concluded that the two minor girls in the Badaun case had not been raped and murdered as had been alleged in the FIR. Investigation has concluded that it is a case of suicide, CBI spokesperson Kanchan Prasad said.

Courtesy: Indiatoday