Uttar Pradesh Dalit sister' gang-rape: One more accused arrested

One more accused was arrested on Friday, in the shocking gang-rape case of two Dalit sisters, whose bodies were found hanging from a tree here, taking the total number of arrests in the case to three.

"One more accused Awadhesh Yadav has been arrested by the police," Superintendent of Police Atul Kumar Saxena told PTI. Of the seven accused, three (policeman Sarvesh Yadav and brothers Pappu and Awadhesh Yadav) have been arrested so far in the matter, he said.

Sarvesh and Pappu were arrested on Thursday. Four other accused Urvesh Yadav (brother of Pappu and Awadhesh), policeman Chhatrapal Yadav and two unidentified persons are yet at large.

The two girls, who were cousins and aged 14 and 15, went missing from their house on the night of May 27 and their bodies were found hanging from a mango tree in the village in Ushait area the next morning.

The incident had triggered protests in the area with villagers alleging police apathy, following which an FIR was registered against seven persons. The postmortem report of the two girls confirmed that they were raped before murder, Saxena had said.

Katra Sadatganj outpost incharge Ram Vilas Yadav, constables Sarvesh Yadav and Chhatrapal Yadav were suspended following the incident. Of the seven accused, Sarvesh and Chhatrpal have been booked under section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code (IPC), while the three brothers --Pappu, Awadhesh and Urvesh-- and two others have been booked under Section 302 (murder) and 376 (rape) of IPC.