The Uttar Pradesh Police registered an FIR in the Saharanpur rape case where a Dalit girl was raped and poisoned to death. This is after the family of the girl submitted a video to the Police in which the victim herself has narrated the incident. On Thursday, the Police arrested a person named Sahil for attempting to rape a Dalit girl and then poisoning her in the Dehat Kotwali area of Saharanpur. The girl was recovered in a very critical condition from a nearby Bijopuri forest and was immediately shifted to the hospital where she was declared dead.
According to the initial reports, the girl who was studying in class 9 had left her home for school exams. While on her way to school, the accused from the same village had abducted her and took her to a hotel. He abused her and made several attempts to rape her. The girl kept on resisting his attempts to sexually assault her. The accused then forcefully poisoned her and abandoned her in the nearby Bijopuri forest area.
In an update to the case, the complainants have revealed that Sahil was not the only person to attack the girl. He was accompanied by one more person who is yet to be identified. The girl in the video has specifically mentioned that Sahil had poisoned her through some liquid after he raped her in a hotel. He then threw her in critical condition in the forest.
While confirming the arrest of Sahil, Saharanpur police said the Police was taking prompt actions in the case. Talking to OpIndia, Saharanpur SSP Akash Tomar said, “Necessary legal action is being taken after registering a case. The accused has been arrested. The situation will be more clear after the medical reports arrive. Accordingly, further legal action will be taken.”
थाना कोतवाली देहात पुलिस द्वारा तत्काल मुकदमा पंजीकृत कर त्वरित कार्यवाही करते हुए नामजद अभियुक्त शाहिल को गिरफ्तार कर लिया है। अग्रिम आवश्यक कानूनी कार्यवाही की जा रही है।
— Saharanpur Police (@saharanpurpol) March 4, 2022
The video of the deceased is making rounds over social media. In the viral video, the victim is seen lying on the stretcher of the hospital. In the video, a woman is heard saying, “I don’t know, I had sent her to the school to give the paper. The schoolmaster and 6 men came and informed us about our daughter’s condition”. The video has been accessed by Opindia in which the victim is seen going through a lot of pain.
In yet another video accessed by OpIndia, the victim can be seen sitting on a bike between two of her family members. In that video, the relatives of the deceased are asking her – who gave you the poison? In response, the minor says – Sahil. Doctors have revealed the age of the girl to be 16 years.
OpIndia further spoke to Rajneesh, cousin brother of the deceased. He said that his uncle (father of the deceased) works as a labourer. We are from the Dalit community. Our house is on the side of the road. Sahil is from our own village. He is an adult and his age is around 20 years. He usually visited our house and probably was keeping a watch on my sister.
“We protested his actions and complained about him to his family several times. Sahil’s family members just kept saying that we will make him understand but to no avail. After the incident, we called Sahil’s family members to tell them about his act. But no one came from his house”, he added.
Bajrang Dal people have helped a lot: Victim’s family
Rajneesh further said, “Ever since the incident with our family members has gone viral on social media, many people from outside the village are calling and talking to us, expressing their concerns. But no Dalit organization present here has taken the cognizance of the incident even once. The Bajrang Dal people have been with us since the beginning. They have helped us a lot.”
Final rites of the victim girl
Talking to OpIndia, the brother of the deceased further stated that the entire family was very sad over whatever has happened. “We are all very sad. We’ve performed the last rites of my sister at the cremation ground in the village itself. We are not properly aware of what further action has been taken in this case so far”, he said.
‘Sahil had help from an accomplice to rape, poison my daughter’: Victim’s mother
The incident was reported to the police by the mother of the deceased. She while speaking to OpIndia said that Sahil had kept an eye on her daughter for a long time. “We had asked him to stay away from us, so he took revenge on my daughter. On March 3, Sahil abducted my daughter from the school on his bike. One of his friends was helping him. My other daughter saw all this and came home and informed. When we started searching for our daughter, she was found unconscious on a rough road to Topri. In the same condition, she told that Sahil, along with his friend, raped her. After that they gave her poison through some liquid and threw her in the forest”, she added.
The FIR report signed by her mother further read, “When we called Sahil, he said that I have left your daughter in Bijopura. We went to the Kotwali area where we found our daughter. From there we took her to the government hospital under police protection. After some time the doctors at the hospital declared my daughter dead.”
According to the reports, the police has also registered a case against the other person who had accompanied Sahil in the crime. A case has been registered against the accused under sections 328, 302, 376 – D, and section 3 (2) (v) of the SC / ST Act. However, Opindia contacted Inspector Kotwali Dehat Saharanpur for an update on the incident so far. He said, “So far no other accomplice of Sahil has come to light in this incident. Sahil has confessed his crime. He says that he has given a ride to the victim several times before. We are waiting for the post-mortem report. The investigation is underway.”
Bajrang Dal states this is the case of Love Jihad
Meanwhile, the local Bajrang Dal activists have stated that the case is another example of the rampant Love Jihad cases in the state where non-Muslim girls are being targeted for sexual harassment and exploitation by Muslims.
Harish Kaushik, the district convener of Saharanpur Bajrang Dal has described the incident as a well-planned conspiracy. He has demanded the death penalty for the accused.
