Body exhumed in Sitamarhi 51 days after girl’s death

Patna: Body of a 14-year-old girl was exhumed from a grave in Sitamarhi on Monday, 51 days after she was buried, following a court’s order. The action was taken after the girl’s mother accused a neighbour of raping and murdering her daughter and hastily burying the body to destroy evidence.

The girl was killed on April 3. An FIR was registered 33 days later, on May 7. The body was exhumed in the presence of a magistrate after the court’s order.

According to the police, the girl was alone at home on April 3. A youth from the neighbourhood allegedly entered the house, raped her and killed her. To make it look like suicide, he hanged the body with a dupatta. The accused is said to be a relative.

The victim’s mother said she went to the field to harvest wheat that morning. “When I returned, my daughter was found kneeling on a cot. A dupatta was tied around her neck and the other end was tied to a bamboo in the roof,” she said.

She alleged that when she raised an alarm, some villagers intimidated her and told her to stay quiet. The girl’s father is engaged as a construction worker in Mumbai. Before he could reach the village on April 4, the accused buried the body in the graveyard against the mother’s wishes.

Belsand SHO Jango Ram said, “The mother has filed an FIR against six people, including Md Riaz, Gulab Darzi, Ali Darzi, Firoz Darzi, Mayra Khatun and Usha Darzi, for rape and murder of her daughter.”

The deceased’s aunt said Md Riaz had proposed to the girl several times and pressured her to talk. He also wanted to marry her. When she refused, he allegedly committed the crime.

“The body was exhumed following the Sitamarhi court’s order. Further action will be taken after the postmortem and forensic reports arrive,” the SHO added.