Death of Dalit student: Family exhumes body, protest for swift action

Police said a preliminary inquiry indicated that the student had gone towards the railway track alone late on the evening of October 27.

In an attempt to put pressure on the administration to take action against the accused, the family of a 22-year-old Dalit nursing student, whose body was found on a railway track near her college in Firozabad, exhumed her body and staged a protest on Saturday.

The family has alleged that she was sexually assaulted and killed, and her body was later placed on the railway track to make it appear like suicide.

The first-year nursing student’s body was found on the morning of October 28. On a complaint lodged by her brother, the police registered an FIR against the principal of the private nursing college and his son for attempted rape, murder, and under the provisions of the SC/ST Act.

A day later (October 29), she was buried in her village in Mainpuri, 70 km from Firozabad, following the autopsy. However, on Saturday, the family exhumed the body and protested with it outside the district administration, demanding the arrest of the nursing college principal and son.

The family demanded action against the local police station in-charge where the FIR has been lodged, alleging that he failed to act promptly on their complaint, and sought financial assistance.

Tensions flared during Saturday’s protest after the villagers tried to block a road, leading to heated exchanges with the police. Officers later persuaded the family to take the body back to Mainpuri, where it was reburied under police supervision.

“The investigation is underway, and we are examining the case from all possible angles. We have checked CCTV footage from cameras installed near the spot, while the call detail records of the victim’s mobile phone are also being examined,” Firozabad Circle Officer Tejas Tripathi said.

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A police officer said the post-mortem examination was conducted by a panel of doctors and videographed. The officer claimed that the findings did not support the family’s allegations.

Police said a preliminary inquiry indicated that the student had gone towards the railway track alone late on the evening of October 27. No suicide note has been recovered so far.