By IANS,
Lakhimpur Kheri (Uttar Pradesh) : As her family yet again pressed for a CBI probe Thursday, a group of lawyers here offered free legal help to the impoverished family of a 14-year-old who was allegedly raped and murdered at a police station here.
“After a meeting with the lawyers in this district, it has been unanimously decided that members of our association would provide all necessary legal assistance to the victim’s family which cannot afford to hire prominent lawyers owing to its poor financial condition,” said Rajiv Shukla, vice president of the local lawyers’ association.
“We want to speed up justice and ensure that all those involved in the crime face stringent punishment. A team of lawyers would soon visit the victim’s family to apprise of our decision,” he told reporters.
The girl’s body was found hanging from a tree June 10 night inside the Nighasan police station premises in Lakhimpur-Kheri district, around 200 km from Lucknow. The death was initially dismissed by police as suicide, but a second autopsy confirmed the girl was strangled.
The victim’s father Thursday reiterated that the family wants a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the murder case as it was not satisfied with the police investigations.
“My daughter was raped by the policemen… It is being concealed by those investigating the case. The CBI should be asked to carry out the inquiry at the earliest,” said the victim’s father, a construction worker.
“I want justice… We want death penalty for the policemen involved in the crime,” he added.
As many as 11 policemen at the police station, a senior police officer and three doctors who conducted the first autopsy have been suspended.
On Wednesday, Mayawati said she was not opposed to a CBI probe but feared the case “may be botched up” by the central agency.
“We don’t oppose the CBI investigating the case as such but the government fears the case may be botched up,” she said.
The Uttar Pradesh Police Crime Branch is now investigating the case.