Sisters’ suicides being probed by rights panel

BHOPAL - The Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) Saturday sought a report from district authorities on the case of the two teenaged sisters who committed suicide after allegedly being harassed by police, officials said.

MPHRC Chairman Justice D.M. Dharmadhikari issued separate notices to the Chhattarpur District Collector E.Ramesh Kumar and Superintendent of Police, seeking a report from both in 15 days.

The commission also directed the state government to provide financial and legal assistance to the girls’ family in Chhattarpur, 350 km from here.

Police constables Kanhaiyalal and Arvind Patel had allegedly caught the elder sibling with her boyfriend May 21 in a deserted area. They snatched the boy’s mobile phone and forced him to leave the place, an official said. They then allegedly molested the girl and clicked some obscene photographs of her with the mobile phone.

Next day, the girl filed a written complaint with Chhatarpur’s Additional Superintendent of Police Sushil Tiwari about the incident. The sisters also told their neighbours that the constables had come to their house Wednesday and were harassing them, police said.

Both sisters had consumed poison following the harassment. While the younger girl (13) died Wednesday itself, the elder (17) died Thursday in a hospital in Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh where she was being treated, police said.

The state government Friday dismissed both the police constables, a senior police official said.