New Delhi: Police in Uttar Pradesh on February 18 filed murder charges against unknown persons, 16 hours after two girls were found dead in a field in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao.

The case was filed after the girls’ father gave a statement to the police saying scarves had been wrapped around the girls’ necks when their bodies were found, and that they also had dried foam around their mouths.

Three Dalit girls – 13, 16 and 17 years old, left home February 17 afternoon to gather fodder. When they did not return their family began searching for them.

They were found unconscious in a field and rushed to a hospital in Kanpur, where two were declared dead and the third was being treated for an as yet unidentified poison. A hospital bulletin issued February 18 evening said she was in “critical but stable.”

Post-mortem reports suggest the girls who died were also poisoned, news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. The post-mortem also revealed no external injuries, the Director-General of Police (DGP) said.

“Postmortem was done by a panel of doctors… no injury before death or external injuries were found. Cause of death could not be ascertained and viscera has been preserved for chemical analysis. We are taking help of forensic experts,” DGP HC Awasthi said.

The police have formed six teams to investigate the incident, and have also deployed sniffer dogs – to trace as much evidence as possible – at the area where the bodies were found.

Earlier Unnao Superintendent of Police Anand Kulkarni told PTI that nothing had been ruled out at this stage; this was in response to speculation the deaths were related to honor killings.

Kulkarni, who confirmed the father’s statement that dried foam and spittle was found at the crime scene, also said there were contradictions between the mother and brother’s statements.

The brother had said the girls’ hands and feet had been tied with pieces of cloth, but later retracted that statement; he said he had been told to say that. The mother, Kulkarni said, indicated that the cloth was around their necks.

“We are investigating the matter and questioning people,” Kulkarni said.

The family sayd they had no enmity with anyone.

“We called out their names… but no one answered. Later we found them in our own field. We can’t accuse anyone as we did not have any enmity with anyone,” a relative said.

The deaths have sparked a political row.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi accused the Yogi Adityanath government of suppressing Dalit communities and crushing the honor and human rights of women in the state.

BSP chief and former Chief Minister Mayawati offered her condolences to the girls’ family and said the incident was “very serious and sad.” She also said her party demanded a high-level inquiry into the incident and strict punishment for the culprits.

Samajwadi Party MLC Sunil Singh Sajan alleged police in Unnao were trying to hush up the case and sought a probe by an independent agency.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister has sought a detailed report from the Director-General of Police, and directed hospital officials to provide the best possible care to the surviving girl.

Source: ndtv.com