The girl's family are alleging rape and murder. Police are investigating if it was an honour killing.
Massive public protests are taking place in Bihar's Gaya over the death of a 16-year-old girl. The girl's family alleges she was allegedly raped, had acid thrown on her face, had her breasts cut off, and that her body was beheaded after she was murdered. The police on the other hand are investigating if it was a case of honour killing.
The family had approached the police on December 28 to report that the girl was missing. They then informed the cops that she returned home on December 31. That same day, the family claims her father sent her off with a man known to the family, reported NDTV. Her body was found on January 6 in a mutilated and decomposed condition.
The case has shaken Gaya, which is about 100 km south of Patna. Protests and marches have been taking place since Tuesday evening demanding speedier action from the police. The case has been brought to wider media attention after activists took to social media to highlight the lack of attention for the case.
Police on the other hand say they have taken into the custody the man with whom the family sent the girl away. The man has denied killing the girl, but police say his call records indicate he was in touch with several local criminals, NDTV reported. The autopsy report is awaited to determine if the girl was raped or tortured before she was murdered.
Activists have alleged that the girl's family has also been taken into custody, and accused the police of trying to make it look like an honour killing. "Just had a phone conversation with one of the protesters and organisers of the candle march. The family is allegedly in police custody and the police is trying to give this an honour killing angle. The girl is from an OBC family and has been missing since Dec 28," tweeted Rituparna Chatterjee, an independent journalist and women's rights activist.
Social media users from Gaya have also put out a number of social media posts highlighting the protests. However, most of those messages cannot be reproduced here since they seem to carry the name of the girl.
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