Dalit Girl Buried in Ex-SP Minister's Plot Strangled, Reveals Post-mortem; Kin Demand Ex-gratia of Rs 25L

BSP supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Friday asked BJP government to immediately act against a case in Unnao, where a body of a Dalit woman has been found in a plot owned by a Samajwadi Party leader.

“Recovery of a buried body of a Dalit woman from the property of an SP leader in Unnao district is a very sad and serious matter. The family members were already suspecting SP leader’s hand in abduction and murder. The state government should immediately take strict legal action against the culprits to get justice for the victim’s family,” she tweeted.

According to local reports, the woman, who had been missing for the last two months, was found in buried in a septic tank located at a vacant plot near the Ashram of late former minister Fateh Bahadur Singh in Kabba Kheda area in Unnao district on Thursday.

The 22-year-old woman’s family had accused former SP minister’s son Rajol Singh of kidnapping and murdering her after she went missing on December 8, 2021 from her residence in Kashiram Chowki area.

The post-mortem report of the woman revealed that she was strangulated to death as her neck bone was broken. There are two injury marks on her head too.

“On the basis of the inputs provided by the accused, the police carried out an excavation in the septic tank at the vacant plot near the Ashram and recovered the dead body of the woman,” said the police, adding that accused Rajol has been arrested and sent to jail.

Earlier, on January 24, the woman’s mother had attempted a self-immolation bid in front of the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s vehicle in Lucknow. Recalling the incident, deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya on Friday said, “When the girl’s mother was pleading in front of your car, you did not pay heed and protected your SP leader. In the new SP, you will forgive every heinous crime of your leaders.”

Speaking to News18, the woman’s mother said, “For the last two months, we have been urging the police to carry our thorough investigation, but they didn’t do anything. We want the culprits to be hanged.”

During questioning she had alleged that Rajol had kidnapped her daughter about 50 days ago. A Times of India report quoted additional superintendent of police Unnao, Shashi Shekhar Singh as saying that on February 4, the police interrogated Rajol on PCR remand for nearly eight hours, the investigators then came to know about his companion Suraj, a resident of Nava village of Hardoi police station Mubarakpur with whom, he (Rajol) had carried out the killing.

He added, “On the day of the incident, Rajol had called the woman to the Ashram. There, along with his companions, he strangled her to death. Thereafter, they wrapped the body in a blanket and buried it in the septic tank.” The ASP was further quoted as saying that many sections including murder will be increased in the case.

The family of the 22-year-old has demanded a compensation of Rs 25 lakh, while the station house officer (SHO) has been suspended for laxity. The members have refused to cremate the body till their demands are met.

In 2017, Unnao hit the headlines after a rape survivor attempted self-immolation outside UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s residence to protest against alleged police inaction. The 17-year-old girl had accused BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar of sexually exploiting her. The matter led to national outrage, leading to expulsion of the legislator from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

During the course of investigation, the rape survivor’s father was also arrested under the Arms Act. He later died in police custody due to alleged custodial torture.

In July 2019, the Unnao rape survivor, her family members and her lawyer were hit by a truck while they were on their way from Unnao to Rae Bareli to meet her uncle. The woman told CBI that Sengar was behind the accident as he wanted to kill her. The accident took the lives of three people, including the lawyer. She was airlifted from a hospital in Lucknow and brought to AIIMS for better care as she was critical.

Recently, the Congress nominated the mother of the Unnao rape survivor, Asha Singh, as a contestant in the UP Assembly polls.

In case of 22-year-old Dalit woman’s case, Rajol Singh has never been with the Samajwadi party nor been its member. His father, who died four years ago, was given a status of state minister when Mulayam Singh was the chief minister.

(With inputs from Qazi Faraz Ahmed in Lucknow)

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