Ayodhya: Wailing MP invokes Ram-Sita over Dalit woman’s rape-murder
Victim's family claims her eyes were missing and body bore deep wounds and fractures; video of wailing Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad going viral on social media
Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad has invoked Ram and Sita over the brutal rape-murder of a Dalit woman in Ayodhya and offered to resign from the Lok Sabha if he cannot give justice to her family.
The 22-year-old woman’s unclothed body was found in a desolate canal near her village in Ayodhya, police said on Saturday (February 1). Her family members claimed that her eyes were missing and that the body bore deep wounds and fractures.
Ayodhya is part of the Faizabad parliamentary constituency.
MP weeps at presser
Prasad broke down while addressing a press conference on Sunday, with a video of the wailing Samajwadi Party MP going viral on social media.
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“Let me go to Delhi. I will raise this matter in Lok Sabha before (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi. I will resign from Lok Sabha if we do not get justice. We are failing to save daughters. How will history judge us? How did this happen to our daughter,” Prasad can be seen lamenting.
“Maryada Purushottam Ram, Mother Sita, where are you?” he can be seen sobbing. As Prasad repeatedly threatens to resign, people can be heard saying that he has to bring justice to the victim.
Family alleges police inaction
The incident comes days ahead of the February 5 Milkipur Assembly bypoll in Ayodhya, necessitated by Prasad’s vacating of the seat after being elected to Lok Sabha.
According to the woman’s family, she had been missing since Thursday night. She had reportedly gone to Bhagavad Katha (a religious gathering) on Thursday night but did not return home.
The woman’s family has accused the police of inaction, alleging that officers did not actively search for her despite their filing a missing report. They have alleged that when they urged the police to look for her, they were told to do so on their own.
Brutal injuries on body
As the family launched a search, her brother-in-law found her body only on Saturday morning, in a small canal 500 metres from the village, the police said.
Her limbs were tied with ropes, and her body had multiple deep cuts, the family claimed.
A large crowd gathered at the scene after the body was found, demanding swift justice. Villagers who draped and transported the body noticed a fractured leg, while her elder sister and two women collapsed upon witnessing the horrific condition of the body.
Wait for autopsy report
Circle Officer Ashutosh Tiwari told news agency PTI that after receiving a complaint on Friday, police registered a missing report.
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Now that the body has been recovered, the post-mortem report will determine further action, he added.
“Once we receive the post-mortem findings, we will proceed accordingly,” he told PTI. Police have launched an investigation, and efforts are underway to identify those responsible, he said.
(With agency inputs)