UP: 13-year-old girl raped, strangled to death in Lakhimpur Kheri; family alleges eyes gouged

Lucknow, Aug 16: A 13-year-old girl was raped and strangled to death in the district on Friday and two men have been arrested for the crime, police said on Sunday.

The body of the girl was found in a sugarcane field owned by one of the accused. The incident took place on Friday, around 130 km from Lucknow, in a village close to the Nepal border. The father of deceased alleged her eyes were gouged out and her tongue cut.

The girl had gone missing earlier in the afternoon. When she did not return home till late evening, her parents and relatives started looking for her. They noticed some dragging marks near a sugarcane field and found her body, the police said. The girl's father has denied enmity with anyone in the village, they said.

Opposition parties hit out the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government over the rape and murder of a teenage girl in Lakhimpur Kheri district, charging that atrocities on women and children in the state are on the rise

Lashing out at the state government, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said the incident has shaken humanity.

"The rape and murder of a teenage girl in Lakhimpur Kheri in UP is an incident, which has shaken humanity. In the BJP rule, atrocities on children and women are at an all-time high," he charged in a tweet in Hindi.

"Why is the BJP government shielding those who are involved in rape, kidnapping, murder and other crime," the former state chief minister asked. Senior Congress leader Jitin Prasada on Sunday said, "The inhuman act with a girl has put humanity to shame. This is an extremely saddening incident. In this episode, the police must initiate such a strong action that it becomes a deterrent for criminals."

In a tweet in Hindi, Prasad asked, "What was the police doing that such a big incident took place. Action must be taken against the guilty persons. The safety of the family (of the girl) should be looked into".

Terming the incident as very saddening and shameful, BSP supremo Mayawati had on Saturday demanded strict action against the guilty.

"What is the difference between the SP government and the present BJP government... The BSP demands that the government should initiate strong action against the guilty in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident and also in the Azamgarh incident," she said in a tweet.