Badaun gang-rape case: Social activists slam CBI's 'suicide' theory

New Delhi: Social activists on Thursday slammed the Central Bureau of Investigation's report on the Badaun case which reportedly stated that the two teenage cousins who were found hanging from a tree in May this year had committed suicide.

All India Democratic Women's Association's (AIDWA's) Jagmati Sangwan said that both the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police and the CBI have come up with their own theories, but many questions are still unanswered in this case.

"The UP police and the CBI have come out with their own theories but these are according to our experience and opinion, unfounded theories. In honor killing it is completely related to the property rights of female, so it is unfounded theory and there are so many questions which are unanswered till now and we from the side of women organization would articulate those issues and we will pursue our own cases on the basis of that. Till that time we don't approve this theory," she said.

Meanwhile, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Barkha Shukla said that the CBI should revisit the report, and the culprits must be punished.

"Earlier when this incident had taken place then the CBI had only submitted the report that the girls have been raped and hanged to the tree after being murdered. It's a very sensitive case and what happened to those two girls, I think CBI should investigate the case again, as many times it happens that they might have missed some point," said Shukla.

"As it's a very sensitive issue so it should be taken very seriously and shouldn't be handled under any sort of hurry, so that the culprits are not relieved at all," she added.

Two young Dalit girls were found hanging from a mango tree in their village on May 28.

The girls had gone to relieve themselves in nearby fields on the night of the incident. When they didn't return, the families alerted the police but they refused to follow up.