6 held within 24 hours in connection with 2 Dalit girls’ deaths in Lakhimpur

Lucknow: The arrest of the six accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri death case of two Dalit sisters within 24 hours of the incident has proved once again Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s commitment to the safety and security of women.

Hearing about the sad incident in Gorakhpur late in the evening, CM Yogi immediately instructed the top officers of the state police to take stern action against the culprits and kept monitoring the whole matter himself.

It is worth mentioning here that on Wednesday evening, bodies of two girls were found hanging on a tree in village Tamolinpurwa in Thana Nighasan area of Lakhimpur district. Subsequently a case was registered against he accused on the basis of the statement of the victims’ mother.

ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said that all the six accused namely Junaid, Suhail, Chhote, Hafizur Rahman, Karimuddin and Chhotu have been arrested while a 315 bore pistol, 2 live cartridges and an empty shell have been recovered from the main accused Junaid’s son Israel.

Junaid, Suhail and Hafeezur Rehman were reportedly arrested during an encounter with the local Nighasan police and SWAT team in Nighasan police station area at 8.34 am on Thursday morning. Following their interrogation, the other accused Karimuddin, and Chhotu Gautam were also arrested.

According to ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar, as soon as the matter came to the notice of the police late in the evening, a team immediately rushed to the spot. Apart from the local police, IG Range Laxmi Singh from Lucknow was immediately rushed to the spot. Prompt action was taken under the leadership of SP, Lakhimpur, Sanjeev Sinha and raids were conducted at different places to nab the culprits.

All forensic evidences were examined. The post mortem of the bodies was videographed and then the bodies were handed over to the family for cremation.  The police have registered a case under sections 302, 323, 452, 376 and 3/4 POCSO Act.