Body of teenage Dalit girl found in field in UP; irate villagers clash with police

The girl had gone to the fields Sunday afternoon to collect fodder for cattle but did not return.

Aligarh: The body of a 16-year-old Dalit girl was found in a field in the Akrabad area here, following which villagers clashed with police and indulged in stone pelting, police said on Monday.

Police personnel have been deployed in large numbers to maintain law and order.

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Senior Superintendent of Police Muniraj G said a special police team has been constituted to investigate the case.

The girl had gone to the fields Sunday afternoon to collect fodder for cattle but did not return.

Later, her body was found in a field when her family members started searching for her, police said.

They said prima facie it appeared that she was strangled.

As the news spread, irate villagers pelted stones at a police party which was trying to take the body for post-mortem, police said.

Inspector Pranendra Kumar was injured in the attack, they added.

SSP Muniraj told reporters late Sunday night that senior police officials rushed to the spot and pacified the villagers who then handed over the body to policemen.

He said allegations that the victim was sexually assaulted are being probed. Everything will be clear when the post-mortem report is received, the SSP added.

Heavy police deployment has been made as a precautionary measure in an around the hamlet which witnessed angry protests.

Muniraj said a special police team headed by Superintendent of Police, Crime, Arvind Kumar is investigating the case.

Police is tracking the movements of all suspicious people, not just in the village but also in the surrounding villages, he said.

The village is located on a road connecting Akrabad to the Gangiri town area.

Senior officials including IG Zone Piyush Mordia and Divisional Commissioner Gaurav Dayal visited the village late Sunday night.

Muniraj said a three member panel of doctors, including a woman doctor, will be conducting post-mortem on the body on Monday and the entire proceedings will be videographed.