6 detained after minor girl’s brutalised body found in Jind

Vishal Joshi

Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, January 14

The district police have detained six youths from Jhansa village in Kurukshetra for their suspected involvement in the murder of a minor Dalit girl.

SP Abhishek Garg said the main suspect was a student of class 12 and the special investigating teams were gathering evidence. The key suspect was known the victim and age of other suspects were being verified for the further legal course, he added.

Garg said it was still being investigated if the body that was found near a canal at Budhakhera village in Jind on Friday night was dumped by the accused at that site or it flowed in the canal water there.

“The postmortem report says the private parts of the girl were mutilated. Injuries marks were also found on her body. It appears the girl died due to smothering or drowning. Only viscera report or swab test could confirm if the victim was subjected to sexual assault,” said the SP.

Student of class 10, the Dalit girl went missing under the mysterious circumstances from her native village on January 9. Subsequently, a police report was reported at Jhansa police station.

As the body reached here today, the family member refused to cremate till their demands of a CBI investigation, armed security and action against officials of Jhansa police station were not met.

The victim’s father alleged the SHO Ram Lal failed to act on his complaint to trace the girl.

Dalit activist and a lawyer Rajat Kalsan said the victim’s parents should be awarded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh and a government job to a family member.

The villagers and activists staged a protest outside the mortuary.

Later, Minister of State for Social Welfare and Empowerment Krishan Kumar Bedi reached to pacify the protesters.

He assures that the state government would empathically consider their demands, including maximum compensation. Bedi assured till the CBI did not take over the investigation, a SIT would continue the probe.

Following the assurance by the minister, the family performed the last rites in the evening.

Meanwhile, the SP confirmed that Jhansa SHO Ram Pal had been transferred to the police lines and a departmental inquiry had been ordered to find his role in the case.

Besides a police security to the family, the police also assured to grant an arms licence if the aggrieved apply for the same, said the SP.

Meanwhile, the official spokesperson of Jind district police said a coordinated probe was underway.