Eve teasing, stalking, and street molestation remain some of the most ignored crimes in the country. Over time, it has been reported and exposed how such crimes have taken the lives of many innocent girls and women. In one such incident, a minor girl from Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkarnagar lost her life following an accident involving street molestation on September 15. A video related to the incident was widely circulated on social media.
In the said video, boys can be seen on their bikes following two girls on cycle, as soon as they approach the girl, one of them snatches the dupatta of the schoolgirl. She stumbled and fell off her cycle. By then, another motorcyclist had run over her. Unfortunately, the girl succumbed to her injuries.
Following the accident the Uttar Pradesh police launched an encounter and nabbed the accused, some of them have even sustained bullet injuries. The Chief Minister of the state, Yogi Adityanath has also said, “Those involved in such activities should get ready to meet Yamraj”.
The accused men involved in this case have been identified as Shahbaz son of Jamaal, from Harsamhar village, Arbaz son of Jamaal, also from Harsamhar village, and Mohammed Faisal from Aaribpur village. Shahbaz and Arbaz snatched her dupatta whereas Faizal was the one who drove his bicycle over the minor.
The minor victim has been identified as Nancy Verma, a student of class 12 and her father as Sabhajeet Verma. They belong to the backward Kurmi jati.
Sabhajeet has been sharing things about Nancy in media interactions, and what led to the horrific death of the minor.
Organiser called him on September 19, as he was very sad it was difficult for him to talk about his beloved daughter again and again. He said the police had arrested only three accused, and one of them is still walking free. His name is Mohammad Munnu, son of Salim, he added.
He said, she was just 17 and wanted to serve society by becoming a doctor, he was devastated after seeing her dead body. Nancy was the third of his four children and lived with him. She was a bright student, he added.
When asked about the stalkers, he said, “They (The Muslims) are in majority in this area”. He has even contacted the constables guarding the office of the BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) in the region to stop the eve teasers but to no avail. The victim has shared about the stalkers to her elder sister, he added.
The victim’s sister and her cousin who accompanied her that day from school told the media that, the accused were not only harassing the minor but other girls of the school as well. They used to follow her to her house and the other girls studying at the school.
Following the accident, Sabhajeet filed an FIR (number–177) against the perpetrators at the Hanswar police station on September 16.
In his complaint to the police, Sabhajeet said, that Nancy, who was 17, was returning from her school when three eve-teasers pulled her dupatta. Nancy, who was on a cycle, lost her balance and fell. Another man on a motorcycle ran over Nancy’s head. Her jaw broke and her skull sustained grievous injuries, leading to her instant death. Onlookers took her to Areeba Memorial Hospital in Hirapur village, where doctors pronounced her dead.
Based on the FIR, the police booked all three accused under IPC sections 354 (assault by criminal force), 279 (driving a vehicle in a negligent manner) and 304-A (causing death by negligence). Additionally, sections for the murder 302 and sections of the POCSO Act were added in the case.
The arrest was made the same day the FIR was lodged, and the accused were identified based on the CCTV footage of the incident.
Police said the trio attempted an escape, during which Faisal allegedly fired at the officers. In the ensuing confrontation, Shahbaz and Faisal sustained gunshot injuries to their legs, while Faisal fractured his leg. The Ambedkarnagar police released a video footage where the accused were seen limping after being shot.
Notably, following the case, Hanswar police station SHO Ritesh Kumar has been suspended and a new police station in-charge has been posted.
थाना हँसवर क्षेत्रांतर्गत एक स्कूली छात्रा की मृत्यु में नामजद तीनों अभियुक्तों को मेडिकल परीक्षण ले जाते समय अभियुक्तों द्वारा रास्ते में मौजूद पुलिस कर्मियों से असलहा छीन कर भागने का प्रयास करने के उपरांत हुई पुलिस मुठभेड़ के संबंध में पुलिस अधीक्षक द्वारा दी गई बाइट#UPPolice pic.twitter.com/4yg8lBHzqQ
— AMBEDKARNAGAR POLICE (@ambedkarnagrpol) September 17, 2023
Readers should know that Hanswar is known as the hotbed of crime and has given birth to national-level criminals such as Don Khan Mubarak, who had more than 50 cases of murder registered against him. Many locals seek inspiration from him to date.
As per a report, a local Dalit leader and BJP’s Zila Mantri Chandrika Prasad called the region as “Pathaan” dominated and indicated that the dominance of crime in the Hanswar region can be traced back to the governance of the Samajwadi Party when the local law enforcement was “blatantly biased towards the dominant Muslim community”. He said the Hanswar police’s inaction in molestation complaints showed that the bias continues to this day.
Ambedkarnagar district was carved out in 1995 from Faizabad, by the then CM Mayawati citing its higher Dalit population.
Some of the cases reported by Organiser show the rising crime against Dalits and other backward people in the region. This month we did two reports where a Dalit woman and her family were forced to convert by her already-converted brother to Islam in order to get a property share. In another case, a Hindu woman was lured to conversion by a Muslim live-in partner who posed as a Hindu.
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