UP: Unnao survivor says accused offered snacks & water, denies sexual assault

LUCKNOW: The lone 17-year-old survivor, who was one of the three girls poisoned by a youth and his accomplice in Asoha village of Unnao last week, has denied sexual assault on them and informed the police that she and her cousins were offered snacks and water laced with some poisonous substance.
In her statement to the police, the girl said that the accused, Vinay, 25, had proposed to her on February 14 but she opposed his advances.
Superintendent of police, Unnao, Anand Kulkarni said: “For the next couple of days, Vinay tried to convince the girl for marriage but she did not pay heed to him. On the day of the incident, the accused approached her and apologized for harassing her with his proposal. He then offered the girl and her two cousins snacks and water. The girls did not accept the snacks but drank water and fell unconscious.”
The SP said that the survivor had confirmed that Vinay was accompanied by another boy.
She informed the police that since March last year, the accused and his accomplice had been following her to the fields where she used to work with her cousins. Later, they started talking to the girls and often shared food and snacks with them.
“However, Vinay’s behaviour suddenly changed in February. He started teasing me with comments that soon I would be working in my father-in-law’s (Vinay’s father) fields. Such statements made me uncomfortable. When he proposed to me on February 14, I was caught off guard and got very annoyed,” she said.
The girl said Vinay approached her again and asked for forgiveness. On February 17, he brought packets of snacks and water bottles for them.
“We refused to take the snacks but took the water. As soon as we drank the water, we fell unconscious. I don’t know what happened after that,” the girl said in her statement.
Denying sexual assault, she said the accused did not ever force himself on her.
The Unnao SP said the crime scene recreation reports were awaited after which the details would be matched with the statements of the girl and the accused.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)