Everything You Need To Know About The Unnao Dalit Girls’ Case: Two Cremated, Third Fights For Her Life

Over a period of time, women’s safety in our country has gone from bad to worse. We, at Hauterfly, read about so many ghastly crimes that occur so often against women that’s it’s extremely alarming. But some cases are more hard-hitting than others. Like this Unnao case, for instance, where three Dalit teenage girls were found unconscious in a field. Two of them have died under mysterious circumstances and the third is fighting for her life. This calls for raising our voice over the growing violence against women, especially in the state of UP. It’s unacceptable.

On Wednesday, three teenage Dalit girls were found unconscious in a field near their house in the Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh. Two of them were pronounced dead while the third girl has been fighting for her life in a Kanpur hospital. Upon the complaint of the families, the UP police have filed an FIR against unknown persons for murder and attempt to hide evidence. Under pressure due to the previously failed investigation of the Hathras rape and murder, the police have brought in six people for interrogation. Yep, so much for Beti Bachao and the Nirbhaya Fund, which BTW, is still being extremely underutilized.

According to the FIR, the three girls were related and/or good friends, and had gone to the field to collect fodder for their cattle around noon on Wednesday. They were found in an unconscious condition in the field in the evening. According to various reports, the three girls had froth coming out of their mouths. They were taken to a nursing home first where the doctor refused to do the check-up. Then the girls were rushed to CHC Asoha government hospital where two of the girls were declared dead on arrival. The third girl was in critical condition and was administered preliminary treated and then referred to Unnao district hospital. Her condition is reportedly stable now.

Three minor girls were found in a field in #Unnao by villagers when they did not return after they left their house to collect cattle fodder. Two of them were declared brought dead, and the third is undergoing treatment at a hospital. https://t.co/WD64b50BJt

— The Hindu (@the_hindu) February 17, 2021

Also Read: This Assam Cop Laughed At A Protest For The Hathras Victim And Then Passed Insensitive Comments. What Is So Funny About Rape?

Police said that the post-mortem report did not conclusively point towards a cause of death. UP director general of police Hitesh Chandra Awasthi said, “The doctors found no external or internal injuries on the girls’ bodies. There is no mention of sexual assault in the medical examination reports. We are taking the help of forensic experts and looking into all possibilities.” However, a panel of four doctors confirmed that these three girls were poisoned. An unidentified substance was found in their abdomen. The doctors said it was smelly and frothy.

There has been a lot of contradictions when it comes to the facts of this case. For instance, while the FIR says that scarves were tied around the neck of all three girls, the mother of one of the girls told reporters that their hands or legs were not tied but they were frothing at the mouth. However, another family member claimed that their hands were in fact tied and this wasn’t a case of suicide. One thing that all the victim’s families agree on is that the UP police are botching up this investigation as well. The locals have held protests and the families are demanded a federal probe into what they are convinced is murder.

The mother of one of the victims said that “We want a CBI inquiry because our girls were murdered and we are being harassed. We have no enmity with anyone in the area and police should release our two relatives.” The mother of another girl said, “We are sure the girls were murdered; it is common in this area.”

https://twitter.com/RichaChadha/status/1362250784600068099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1362250784600068099%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thequint.com%2Fnews%2Findia%2F2-minor-dalit-girls-found-dead-in-a-field-in-unnao-3rd-critical

The locals and the police have already had two face-offs. The first happened when the police put up barricades and brought machines to dig the graves for the two girls that lost their lives. Hundreds of locals gathered, confronted the authorities and refused to let them dig the graves. This apprehension and lack of trust in the police perhaps stems from how they cremated the Hathras victim in the dead of the night without as much as informing her family. This act was described by the Allahabad HC as a “violation of human rights”.

Honestly, we can’t blame the locals for their distrust in the UP authorities. Their track record, especially when it comes to gruesome crimes against women, is atrocious. Where is the safety of women? We don’t know how and why these three girls were poisoned but we do know that the UP police and government need to do better. What happened to all the initiatives we were promised? Help desks? Police squads? The whole Beti Bachao initiative? Reports suggest that CM Yogi Adityanath has “taken a serious note” of this incident and directed the proper treatment of the girl fighting for her life. Is this enough? Is a “serious note” going to stop vicious men from preying on women? I don’t think so.

The third victim is being kept on a ventilator at Kanpur Regency Hospital. District Magistrate Unnao, Ravindra Kumar, has informed the hospital that the entire cost of the girl’s treatment would be borne by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

Make no mistake.. horror in Unnao is the result of a culture of impunity enjoyed by criminals.. especially in cases of crimes against women.. Dalit Women.. this is what happens when you sacrifice governance to the altar of the cow, the temple & a relentless politics of bigotry.. https://t.co/lMi9aRHX6n

— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) February 18, 2021

As for the two girls who succumbed to the alleged poison, they have been cremated in Asoha on Friday amid heavy security in the area. DGP HC Awasthi said, “The third victim is being treated in Kanpur Nagar and her condition is critical but stable. It has been declared a suspected case of poisoning. The deceased girls’ post-mortem revealed no external injury. The cause of death has not been ascertained and the viscera has been preserved for chemical analysis.”

How has this case not generated any kind of public agitation? Three teenage girls were poisoned under mysterious circumstances. Two of them have died while the third is battling to stay alive. Why isn’t this making everyone’s blood boil? Especially since these kind of crimes are so common in UP. Have people become so desensitized to crimes against women that the plight of these three girls isn’t as much as striking a chord? That’s worrisome, to say the least.

Let’s hope the police probes further and finds the people responsible for this ghastly crime.

https://thehauterfly.com/culture-2/bjp-leader-ranjeet-shrivastav-hathras-rape-victim-character/