Uttar Pradesh Police (File)
The father of a teen girl - one of two who were allegedly raped last week, and whose bodies were found hanging from a tree in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district - has been found dead.
In a video statement to the press, senior police officer Deeksha Sharma said the body was recovered on Wednesday afternoon. The body was found near Hamiurpur, less than two km from his home.
After a routine post-mortem, the body was handed over to the family and his last rites were performed at their village with police present. The son, meanwhile, has filed a police case.
Last week the bodies of his daughter, and that of another girl, were recovered.
READ | 2 Girls' Bodies Found In UP's Kanpur, Families Allege Rape: Cops
They were allegedly forced to drink liquor and then raped by the son, 18, and nephew, 19, of a local contractor. The two girls and their families worked at a brick kiln owned by the contractor, and their bodies were found less than 400 metres from that spot.
All three were arrested and are in jail. They could face charges of gang rape and abetment of suicide, as well as those under the POCSO Act, the police said.
Kanpur Shocker
According to their families, the girls went to the fields late last evening to relieve themselves. Relatives went searching after they did not return, and found their bodies hanging from a nearby plum tree.
The accused also made a video of the assault and used it to blackmail the girls, the families said, alleging the hurt and humiliation led the girls to take their lives. The police have recovered videos and photographs from the mobile phones of the accused and these are being examined, officials said.
Rahul Gandhi Reacts
The deaths have sparked a row, with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi lashing out at the ruling BJP's claims of "double engine government" - a reference to the party controlling the state government as well as being in power at the centre, an argument for improved development - over "double injustice".
"Understand 'double injustice' happening in Narendra Modi's 'double engine' governments from these two incidents! In UP, two sisters hanged themselves after being raped. Now, due to not getting justice and pressure to withdraw the case, their father also had to hang himself," he posted on X.
Mr Gandhi - who is widely expected to return to contest his family's Amethi stronghold in the state in the 2024 Lok Sabha election - also referred to an incident in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.
"In MP, a woman's honor was ruined; when her poor husband pleaded for justice, he hanged himself along with his two children, disappointed by not getting a hearing," he said.
"Seeking justice in a double engine government is a crime."
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