Dalit family of 4 killed allegedly by youth in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj

Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh): A joint team of Prayagraj police and special operation group (SOG) have cracked the case of brutal killing of four members of a Dalit family in Phaphamau area of Uttar Pradesh with the arrest of an alleged accused, also belonging to the same community.

A Dalit couple along with their minor daughter and son were found murdered inside their house on November 25 at Gorhi Mohanganj village under the Phaphamau police circle.

The police said the alleged accused Pawan Kumar Saroj committed the crime after being spurned by the victim's daughter. He also allegedly raped her before killing her.

Senior police officials said the joint team assigned to crack the case had scanned the mobile phone of the slain girl and found her WhatsApp chats with the alleged accused.

Prem Prakash, Additional Director General (Prayagraj zone), told the media that, "after scanning the WhatsApp chat of the slain girl and carrying out detailed investigations, the police found that Pawan, a resident of Tharwai, was sending messages to her."

When police detained and quizzed Pawan, he said he had been following the girl for a long time but she ignored him.

Irked by her behaviour, he claimed to have executed the crime.

The police claimed that probe teams were compiling more facts regarding the incident. They said the alleged accused was not cooperating and tried to misguide them.

As per police, Pawan admitted that he forced the girl to accept his friendship offer but she refused his proposal.

The police have sent a blood-stained shirt of the alleged accused for forensic test.

Meanwhile, the police said a case under Section 147, 148, 149,302,376 (D) and 3/4 of POCSO Act and SC/ST Act had been registered regarding the incident.

However, the immediate family members of the deceased victims had claimed that the four murders were a result of a property dispute with some upper caste members of the village.

The incident became a major political issue with leaders of various parties, including the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Aam Aadmi Party and the Samajwadi Party, attacking the Uttar Pradesh government for 'deteriorating law and order' in the state.