Banda police have booked two cousins, accused of rape, and their fathers for the murder of the teenage victim’s 53-year-old father. The girl’s father was found dead near his residence in Banda district on Friday. The rape case was lodged over a week ago on court’s orders. The victim’s family alleged that the accused, who are their neighbours, had been pressuring them to settle the rape case, police said. They claimed that the accused killed the rape victim’s father after they refused to strike a compromise, officials added. The police had initially ruled out murder of the 53-year-old, saying his post-mortem report stated that the death occurred due to hanging. Deputy Inspector General (Chitrakootdham range) Vipin Kumar Mishra said since no ligature marks were found around the neck, they were taking legal opinion on the matter. No injury was found on any other part of the body either, he added. The police are also looking into an old dispute between the family of the accused and the rape victim, the DIG said. They are also collecting call details of the four accused booked in the murder case. No arrest has been made in the murder case so far. On January 20, three persons, including the two cousin brothers and an unidentified person, were booked for allegedly raping the girl from their neighbourhood. It was alleged that the girl was raped on October 17 last year when she had gone for work to the fields. After the police did not file a case, the girl’s family had moved court to get the FIR lodged. An FIR was lodged against four persons including cousin brothers on murder charge. The police said the rape victim’s brother was booked two years back for sexually assaulting a female member of the men accused of murdering the 53-year-old.
