India - Badaun "gang rape" case -- now it's being called suicide by two young teens

I didn't quite know what to do with this case, but I thought it deserved its own thread, even though cases from India don't get much attention on WS. I first saw this particular case mentioned here on WS in the thread that talked about European women who had been gang raped in India.

Of course, the western media didn't pay too much attention to the case of two girls, 14 and 15, found hanging from a tree in a village in India back in May. Activists say it was a case of abuse of lower caste girls and the system supporting the higher caste perpetrators. Originally 5 men were charged, but in the past day or so, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has come out and said that they have determined that the two girls committed suicide in shame of their inappropriate behaviour.

Something seems rotten in Denmark. (Just a figure of speech. No offense to the Danes!)

While CBI has built its suicide theory in Badaun case primarily on the basis of forensic evidence, there are several glaring gaps in its claims that the girls planned their suicide out of shame.

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Badaun-case-CBIs-suicide-theory-leaves-key-questions-unanswered/articleshow/45302402.cms?intenttarget=no&utm_source=TOI_AShow_OBWidget&utm_medium=Int_Ref&utm_campaign=TOI_AShow

From an article shortly after the incident:

Chouhan said a post-mortem confirmed the two minors were raped and died from the hanging. DNA samples have been also been taken to help identity the perpetrators, he added.

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http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/05/29/uk-india-killings-idINKBN0E91AI20140529

Here is the Wikipedia link for this case:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Badaun_gang_rape


I have to say I was shocked when I saw the most recent headlines, saying it wasn't rape, but rather suicide. What do the rest of you think?

Well my knee jerk response was that it's another cover-up.

Donjeta said:

Well my knee jerk response was that it's another cover-up.

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That is everybody's reaction here in India too. Corruption is very common here, you can get anything for cash ...


A few months ago the CBI had "concluded" that the families themselves had killed the girls.

Doctors had earlier said in the post-mortem report that the victims were brutally raped because their private parts were damaged. After a three-month probe, the CBI had concluded it to be a so-called "honour killing", saying the family had hanged the victims after learning of their “illicit relationship” with the Yadav brothers.

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahom...ng-mango-tree-say-CBI-shielding-culprits.html


The families of the girls now want to approach the Supreme Court and the PM, Narendra Modi.

Piqued over the CBI report, the family members of the two girls whose bodies were found hanging from a tree in Badaun district in May, said they would petition the Supreme Court and the Prime Minister and if justice was not done they would commit suicide.

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http://www.firstpost.com/india/bada...-of-both-girls-to-approach-sc-pm-1825003.html


These are lower cast, very poor people. I feel very sad for them, they don't have any means nor the education to defend their girls, or themselves for that matter, against these allegations. I hope they will find someone to help them pro bono.

But I have a gut feeling that this case will never be solved satisfactory.