Brajesh Pathak speaking to reporters about the rape and murder of two minor girls in Lakhimpur Kheri.
The Uttar Pradesh government will take "such strict action" in the rape and murder of two Dalit sisters in Lakhimpur Kheri that "souls of the coming generations of the culprits will shiver", Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said today. The trial will be held in a fast-track court, he added.
Bodies of the two girls, 17 and 15, were found hanging by a tree near their village on September 14. Police have arrested six men and said the girls were strangled and later hanged to make it look like a suicide.
Opposition parties see the crime as a reflection of "how law and order has collapsed" in the BJP's rule. "Criminals in UP are fearless because this government's priorities are wrong," said BSP leader and former chief minister Mayawati in a tweet this morning.
Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, another former chief minister, described the crime as a repeat of the Hathras case from 2020 in which a Dalit girl was raped and murdered. Mayawati drew that comparison too.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and AAP MP Sanjay Singh have asked similar questions.
But BJP's Keshav Prasad Maurya, also a deputy to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, asked the Opposition to "desist from politics and, instead, stand with the family".
"The government is with the victims' families in whatever way needed. UP has strict rule of law, and we will show that," he added.
Police said that, with the six arrests, everyone involved is in custody now. They have been charged with rape and murder, and under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, besides other related sections of the law.
The post-mortem examination was being held today and the family was allowed to be present.