'Too Scared To Talk As We Are Minority In Our Area': Father Of Schoolgirl Fatally Run Over After Molestation In Uttar Pradesh

In a distressing incident from Uttar Pradesh that has ignited nationwide ire, a video circulating widely on social media shows a schoolgirl tragically losing her life in accident after facing street molestation.

The young girl was knocked off her bicycle after two men on a motorcycle seemingly snatch her dupatta. Almost immediately after, another motorcyclist fatally runs over her.

The incident occurred around 3.30 pm on 15 September in Hanswar region of Ambedkar Nagar district.

The assailants belong to the predominant Muslim community in the area, while the victim was from the Kurmi caste, a backward Hindu group. This has stoked further fury as it brings to memory previous cases where the religious backgrounds of the victims and perpetrators were similar such as the Shraddha Walker and Sakshi murder cases in capital city New Delhi.

The girl's father, Sabhajeet, told Swarajya that his daughter, a Class XII student at Ramraji Inter College in Hirapur, frequently raised concerns about harassment from local men during her journey back from school. However, despite multiple pleas to the local police, they seemingly took no significant action.

“Several times, I told the policemen guarding the local BSP [Bahujan Samaj Party] office to control the eve-teasers. But they did nothing,” he said.

The distressed father said he would not speak further on the matter, citing fears related to the minority status of his community in the area.

“Unki bahut abadi hai yahan [They are in large numbers here],” he said, where ‘they’ referred to the religious community to which the molesters as well as the man who ran over the girl belong.

They have been identified as Mohammed Shahbaz, son of Jamaal, from Harsamhar village; Mohammed Arbaaz, son of Jamaal, also from Harsamhar village, and Mohammed Faisal from Aaribpur village. It's not yet confirmed if Shahbaz and Arbaaz are brothers.

Sabhajeet lives in Barhe Adilpur village of Hanswar. Nancy was the third of his four children and the only family member who lived with him. Sabhajeet's wife passed away several years ago. The elder two daughters have been married while the youngest child, a son, stays at a relative's house in Lucknow for his education.

After his daughter’s death, Sabhajeet gave a complaint to the Hanswar police on 16 September, which Swarajya has accessed (FIR number 177).

The complaint says that Nancy, who was 17, was returning from her school when three eve-teasers pulled her dupatta. Nancy, who was on a cycle, lost her balance and fell. Another man on a motorcycle ran over Nancy’s head. Her jaw broke and her skull sustained grievous injuries, leading to her instant death. Onlookers took her to Areeba memorial hospital in Hirapur village, where doctors pronounced her dead. 

Based on the complaint, the police booked the three men under IPC sections 354, 279 and 304-A. They were arrested on 16 September based on CCTV footage, police said in a press note.

Yesterday, the Ambedkar Nagar police released footage of Shahbaz, Arbaaz and Faisal limping after being shot in the leg.

Police said the trio attempted an escape, during which Faisal allegedly fired at the officers. In the ensuing confrontation, Shahbaz and Faisal sustained gunshot injuries to their legs, while Faisal fractured his leg.

Ambedkar Nagar Superintendent of Police (SP) said the chargesheet would be filed in 10 days.

Notably, the Ambedkar Nagar district was carved out in 1995 by the then chief minister Mayawati from a portion of Faizabad. It was so named after Dalit icon BR Ambedkar. About a quarter of the district’s population comes under Scheduled Castes.

Swarajya spoke to Chandrika Prasad, a Dalit activist and currently zila mantri of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who provided further insight into the area's social and criminal dynamics.

Describing Hanswar as a crime-ridden, "Pathan-dominated" region, Prasad said the area has produced “national-level criminals”. Citing the notorious don Khan Mubarak, who had more than 50 criminal cases of murder, attempt to murder and extortion registered against him since 2006 before he died in jail in June, Prasad said he remains an influential figure, inspiring many local young men.

Prasad indicated that the dominance of crime in the Hanswar region can be traced back to the governance of the Samajwadi Party when the local law enforcement was “blatantly biased towards the dominant Muslim community”. He said the Hanswar police’s inaction in molestation complaints showed that the bias continues to this day.

“The thana incharge of Hanswar has now been suspended. It was after BJP workers like us staged an agitation and threatened to resign from the party,” Prasad, who is from the scheduled Jaatav caste, said.

As per reports, the earlier SHO, Abhay Kumar Maurya, has been replaced by Jaiprakash Singh.