Post Mortem Report Claims Assam Girls Found Hanging Had Committed Suicide

NEW DELHI: The two school girls who were found hanging from a tree at a village in Karimganj district of Assam were not raped, rather, they committed suicide, according to the post-mortem report.

The detailed report conducted by doctors at the Silchar Medical College, Assam read “ “Death was due to asphyxia as a result of ante-mortem suicidal hanging. Vaginal smear was taken and on microscope it did not reveal presence of spermatozoa”.

Refuting any instance of rape or sexual assault, the report clearly pointed out that there was “no finding suggesting recent sexual intercourse”, a senior district administration official said.

After the initial investigation, it was suspected that the girls had taken this drastic step since their families had opposed their affairs with two youth from that area, a police official stated.

The bodies of both the minors had been sent to the Silchar Medical College hospital for detailed post-mortem after the initial investigation.

The families of both the girls, who were friends, had refused to file FIR’s also, the police officer said. He further added that though a section of local residents had alleged that the girls had been raped and hanged, the family members had made no such allegation.

The teenage girls, one aged 15 and the other 16 were residents of Balia village under Nilambazaar police station, about 80km from the district headquarters, Karimganj, Assam. They had left for their respective schools on Wednesday morning but did not return in the afternoon. This prompted for a search and their bodies were found hanging from a jackfruit tree in a jungle grove near the village the next morning.

The incident sparked a lot of hue and cry and created a sensation in the whole area. Even the media took up this incident with enthusiasm. This episode reminded us of the Budaun and other cases in UP wherein girls had been raped and hanged from the tree.