17-year-old girl killed self: Muzaffarpur police

MUZAFFARPUR: Police on Wednesday claimed that Asha Kumari, a 17-year-old girl of Sanpura in Muzaffarpur district, had committed suicide by hanging herself from a tree in an orchard outside the village on Friday night.
Police’s claim, however, is different from the FIR lodged by Asha’s brother Baban Rai which states that a group of seven men had killed her to stop her from attending school.All of them belonged to the same caste and were against any girl pursuing studies after Class X. They allegedly forced Rai to perform the last rites of his sister at gunpoint and held him and his wife hostage.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manoj Kumar discarded the theory of Asha’s murder on the issue of her education as mentioned in the FIR. “Primary investigation suggests that the girl was in a relationship with a boy of the same village and school. Some co-villagers, who belonged to her caste, asked her to break up with the boy, but she did not. Infuriated, they took her to task almost a week ago and she committed suicide,” said the SSP.
Kumar added that Rai had a conflict with the seven men mentioned in the FIR over a piece of land. “He, therefore, lodged a complaint against them, alleging that they were trying to stop his sister from going to school,” he said.
The SSP pointed out that four men had been arrested for helping Rai dispose of Asha’s body, without informing police. He said, “Since she has been consigned to flames, it is difficult to ascertain the actual reason behind her death now.”
Meanwhile, a police team, led by deputy SP (west) K M Prasad, visited the village on Wednesday to investigate the matter. The officials talked to the villagers and Asha’s coaching teachers.
Sanpura wore a deserted look when this reporter reached the village. Most villagers said they did not know what exactly happened, but saw the girl’s body hanging from a tree.