In yet another violent crime on a Hindu woman by Islamists in Lakhimpur Kheri district of UP, a girl was thrashed inside her own home by 2 men – Saleemuddin and Aashif – when she resisted their attempt to rape on September 12. The injured girl passed away yesterday evening. Her family members have alleged that police tried to cover up the crime.

After villagers protested and refused to hand over the girl’s body for post mortem, senior officials arrived to give assurances that justice would be done. The two accused have been arrested, and the Padariya Tula village chowki in-charge Sunil Kumar Singh has been suspended.

The victim’s father had expired and she used to live with her mother and brother, who both work as laborers. The family is financially weak. Her brother alleged that the police removed the attempt to rape charge from the FIR. Her mother said police is siding with the accused, who are known goons – she leveled the grave charge that Sunil Singh offered money to hush up the matter.

Narrating her plight, the Hindu mother told Dainik Bhaskar, “That day my daughter was alone at home. Seeing this, Saleemuddin and Aashif barged into the house and tried to rape her. When she resisted, they assaulted her. Hearing her cries, I rushed back. The two accused attacked me too. Soon, neighbours gathered due to which the accused ran away. My daughter fought bravely and even managed to injure one of her attackers. I went to the thana (police station) to lodge a complaint. But they wrote the complaint the way they wanted and registered only an assault case.”

The victim’s brother said, “I was out working when the incident happened. We wanted to take my sister to the Lakhimpur district hospital, but couldn’t as it was raining hard. My sister breathed her last at 6 PM on Friday.”

Lakhimpur Kheri district in north-central UP shares a border with Nepal. This region has seen an explosion in new mosques-madrasas over last few decades and has become another hub of Islamic extremism.