The gang-rape and murder of a schoolgirl sparked anger in a village in Aligarh, UP
A 17-year-old schoolgirl on her way to tuition was allegedly pulled off her bicycle, gang-raped and killed by four men in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh town, an incident that comes at a time the 2012 Delhi gang-rape has been in the news.
On Wednesday, the girl, a student of class 9, was allegedly dragged to a sugarcane field in the Harduaganj area of the city, where the men allegedly raped and brutalized her before strangling her with her dupatta or scarf. The men had come on two bikes, according to the police.
Her mutilated body was found hours later by villagers. They allegedly did not allow the body to be removed for a long time, angry with the police and accusing them of not taking action.
Four policemen were allegedly attacked by villagers, after which senior officers arrived with a larger contingent.
Two persons have reportedly been picked up for questioning but no arrests have been made till now.
"We received information that the dead body of a small girl has been found in the sugarcane fields. We came and investigated the areas, the body has been sent for examination. The reason for the girl's death will be clear after post-mortem," said senior police officer J Ravinder Goud.
The incident has been compared to the gang-rape and torture of a young medical student on a bus in Delhi in December, 2012. Jyoti Singh, who had been brutalised with an iron rod, died 13 days later. One of her attackers who was a minor at the time was released last week. Parliament has now passed a law which defines when offenders who are 16 and above can be tried and punished like adults.