50-year-old gangraped, murdered in UP’s Budaun

Lucknow: A 50-year-old aanganwadi worker was gangraped and murdered, allegedly by a priest and his two aides, in Uttar Pradesh’s Budaun district when she had gone to pray at a temple, an incident that sparked political furore in the state months after the Hathras rape and murder case.
The police arrested the two aides while the priest was still on the run on Wednesday. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath asked the additional director general of Bareilly zone to submit a report in the matter and also directed the UP Special Task Force to provide assistance in the investigation. The National Commission of Women also took cognisance of the matter.

“On Sunday, the 50-year old who had gone to a temple was found dead under mysterious circumstances. Family members have accused the temple priest and his accomplices of raping and murdering her. Based on this, a case was registered against the accused,” said Budaun’s senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sankalp Sharma. “Two of the accused persons were arrested on Tuesday night, while the mahant is still absconding. Four teams have been deployed to nab him.”

He said on the basis of the statements given by the family members as well as the post-mortem report, the case appeared to be that of rape and murder.

According to local reports, the woman had gone to pray at a temple in a neighbouring village on Sunday but did not return till late in the night. At around 11 pm, the priest, along with the two other accused, brought her and left her outside her house, claiming that she had died by falling in a well. The station house officer (SHO) of the Ughaiti police station was suspended, with the SSP stating that he did not inspect the crime site and did not handle the case with the sensitivity it required.

Local reports said owing to the negligence by the police, the post-mortem was conducted only 16 hours after the woman was brought home and that even after the family members alleged rape, the police did not inspect the crime site. The chief medical officer said the victim suffered tears and injuries in her private parts and a fracture in her ribs and leg, and died due to bleeding and trauma.

Opposition parties, including SP and Congress, lashed out at the BJP-led UP government over the matter.