A smartphone, a mother’s grief, and political blame game: A teen’s death in UP throws up questions

Trouble, according to the family, began after the girl allegedly received an expensive smartphone from the 20-year-old youth. “We came to know about it one-and-a-half months ago… We had confronted them then,” says the father.

The mother adds that she quickly arranged a wedding alliance for the 16-year-old in Rajasthan. “His [the 20-year-old’s] family would not have taken her in,” she says.

Her voice breaking, she adds: “Kyun diya mobile, humara aukaat ke bahar rahi (Why did he give her a mobile? It was beyond our means).”

The family of seven, including three sons and two daughters, live on daily-wage labour. The father lost his job during the Covid pandemic, and the parents now work at a local wood shop during the day and in the fields at night. One of their sons recently began working at a thresher for Rs 2,000 a month.

That night, on April 14, the couple left for work, leaving the children sleeping at home. “We locked the door and went. When we came back around 1 am, our daughter was not at home,” the father recalls.

They frantically searched the village and nearby areas and called her phone repeatedly. But, according to them, there was no response.

Around dawn, the family reached out to one of the girl’s school friends, asking her to try calling. “Someone picked up for a moment. Then, around 5.30 am, we heard she had jumped into the river,” the father says. He rushed to the embankment and called the emergency helpline.

The family pointed fingers at the youth who gave their daughter the phone, alleging he was behind the death.

According to police, an FIR was lodged on April 19 under BNS Section 103(1) (murder) on a complaint by the victim’s father.

The report states that the girl went missing on the night of April 14, and her belongings were found near a bridge around 5 am on April 15. Her body was recovered from the river later. Police named the local youth as the main accused, and he was arrested.

His family lives a lane away, barely 350 metres from the girl’s house. The 20-year-old and his mother are the only two at home these days; his father works in Surat as a guard and his brother is a technician in Gujarat.

His mother says she had no idea about his alleged relationship with the girl, and only found out after her son’s arrest.

Politics over death

Over the last few days, the girl’s home has become the centre of attention, with politicians and the media lining up to meet the family. Policemen have been deployed across the village. On Sunday, the district administration imposed prohibitory orders across the district till April 30, restricting any form of assembly.

On April 22, tensions had escalated during a visit by a Samajwadi Party-led delegation which saw stone-pelting and assault, in which several police personnel and villagers sustained injuries, as per the FIR lodged.

Police booked multiple people, including locals and SP members, and the Congress and SP media cell, for allegedly sharing “misleading” posts on the case.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has announced that he will visit Ghazipur on April 29, adding: “Uttar Pradesh has never seen such a weak chief minister, under whose watch poor and helpless victims are pressured to alter their statements.”

On Tuesday, an SP delegation met the family again and handed them Rs 5 lakh aid.

In a post on X, Akhilesh wrote: “The victim family from Ghazipur has received, through the collective efforts of our entire PDA [Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak] community as one united front, a sum of 5 lakh rupees… We will keep fighting for the dignity and honor of PDA, for equal opportunities and space, and for all-round upliftment…”

Conscious of any political fallout ahead of elections in 2027, BJP UP minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has accused the SP of attempting to “vitiate the atmosphere” over the case and said “a daughter’s death should not be politicised”.

The state government had extended immediate assistance to the victim’s family, including Rs 5 lakh compensation, allotment of 1.5 bigha land, and a Chief Minister’s housing unit, Rajbhar pointed out.

The girl’s mother says politics is far from her mind, all she knows is that “my daughter is gone”. The father adds: “We don’t have an option but to work day and night. Maybe if we had been at home…”