Lakhimpur Kheri sisters' murder: Viral video shows accused minutes after police shot him in encounter

Junaid, one of the accused who allegedly raped and murdered the two girls found hanging in a field in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri, sustained a bullet injury in an encounter with the police before getting arrested. The local police have arrested six people -- Chotu, Junaid, Sohail, Hafizul, Karimuddin and Arif-- in connection with the case. Meanwhile, a purported video shows the accused Junaid minutes after he was hit by a bullet.

The police said the victims weren't abducted by the accused as they knew each other. They said Junaid and Sohail raped the victims and killed them as they demanded marriage. They later called the other accused to contaminate the crime scene. Hafizul, Karimuddin and Airf helped the accused to hang the victim to a tree in order to make it look like a case of suicide.

The sixth accused Chotu is the victims' neighbour. He had introduced the girls to the two accused. He wasn't present when the crime took place, police said.

BJP leader Shalabh Mani Tripathi tweeted a video showing Junaid being carried away by the police after the encounter.

DNA can't independently confirm the authenticity of the video.

लखीमपुर का हैवान जुनैद !! pic.twitter.com/MpTx0kCwcE

— Dr. Shalabh Mani Tripathi (@shalabhmani) September 15, 2022

"Lakhimpur's demon Junaid," he tweeted in Hindi.

The crime has sent shockwaves across the country and triggered a political storm.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked the BJP over the crime and said women's safety can't be expected from those who facilitated the release of rapists of Bilkis Bano.

"The kidnapping and murder of two minor Dalit sisters in Lakhimpur in broad daylight is a very disturbing incident. Women's safety cannot be expected from those facilitating the release of rapists and welcoming them," he tweeted in Hindi.

11 men who gang-raped Bano during the Godhra riots were set free last month from jail. The BJ-led government had allowed their release under its remission policy. 

The girls, aged 14 and 17, were found hanging from a tree in a sugarcane field in the district.

"The killings of two sisters in Lakhimpur (UP) are heart-wrenching. The relatives say that the girls were abducted in broad daylight," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

"Giving false advertisements in newspapers and television every day does not improve law and order. After all, why are heinous crimes against women increasing in Uttar Pradesh?" the Congress general secretary said.

When will the government wake up, she asked.

With inputs from PTI