New Delhi:
The CBI today took charge of the investigation into the gang-rape and murder of two teenagers from Badaun in Uttar Pradesh who were found hanging from a tree in their village a day after they were assaulted.
A CBI spokesperson today said an FIR has been lodged to probe the case and a team of 20 officials headed by a Deputy Inspector General will leave for UP tomorrow.
"The team will also comprise forensic experts. The state government has been requested to provide logistical support to the CBI team," said CBI spokesperson Kanchan Prasad.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had last night issued the notification, a mandatory requirement for the CBI to take up a probe in a state-specific matter.
The two girls, cousins aged 14 and 15 years, were abducted and gang-raped when they had stepped out of their house to relieve themselves. Their bodies were found hanging from a tree a day later on May 28
The UP police had registered a case against seven accused, of whom five have been arrested.
The incident triggered nationwide outrage with political parties and civil society activists demanding the dismissal of the Akhilesh Yadav government.
The case has even drawn criticism from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon who said, "We have seen despicable attacks against women and girls around the world... I was especially appalled by the brutal rape and gruesome murder of two teenaged women in India who had ventured out because they did not have access to a toilet."
Badaun is situated about 300-km from Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow.