The father of one of the girls gang-raped and hanged from a tree says he was ridiculed by police when he reported her missing. The man, who has not been identified, said that because he was from a lower caste, police officers ‘refused to look for my girl’
The girls, cousins aged 14 and 16, were found hanging from a mango tree in Katra village in Uttar Pradesh after they were raped and killed by a gang. The case has once again shone the spotlight on India’s attitude to gang rape.
Hundreds of angry villagers crowded around the tree for the rest of the day, silently protesting alleged police inaction in the case.
Now the father of one of the girls has said that because of his low rank in the caste system, police ignored him when he went for help.
The family belongs to the Dalit community, also called ‘untouchables’ and considered the lowest rung in India’s age-old caste system.
‘When I went to the police station, the first thing I was asked was my caste,’ he told the BBC. ‘When I told them what my caste was, they started abusing me.’…
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