Dalit sisters’ death | Police: One of six arrested accused was not at crime scene

The six arrested accused — Junaid, Suhail, Hafizur Rehman, Chhote and Karimuddin besides Chhotu Gautam — were sent to jail on Thursday after they were produced in a court. All are in their early twenties, it is learnt.

“Chhotu will be chargesheeted under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC,” said Lakhimpur Kheri Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjiv Suman.

“Chottu had introduced the victims to two accused, Junaid and Suhail around six months back, the police claimed. “During the questioning, the accused said the two girls met them somewhere near the village. Junaid took the two girls on a motorcycle while Suhail and Hafizur followed them on foot,” said a police officer.

“It has been found that Junaid and Suhail raped the girls while Hafizur stood guard. Later, the girls entered into an argument with Junaid and Suhail as the two youths refused to marry them. The argument took an ugly turn when Suhail and Rehman strangulated the victims,” the officer added.

The police said soon after the girls died, the accused called up Chhotu and Karimuddin and asked them to reach the spot.

“The five hanged the bodies with a tree to make it look like suicide. Chhote and Karimuddin are accused of helping the others destroy evidence,” said the SP.

The police had initially nabbed Chottu and arrested other accused on the basis of information provided by him, said a police officer.