Haryana Govt hands over Mewat double murder case to CBI

Chandigarh, Sep 20 (PTI) The Haryana government todayhanded over to CBI the double-murder case of a couple andalleged gangrape of two girls in which their kin had allegedthe role of cow vigilantes in Mewat district. The probe in the incident has been transferred to the CBI,official sources said here. After the incident last month, Haryana Police had formeda Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case. The Haryana Police had come under criticism and publicoutrage, following the brutal incident that took place in ahouse located near Manesar-Palwal expressway in a village inMewat last month. On August 28, Haryana Police had arrested four youths inconnection with murder of a couple and gang-rape of two girlsafter the accused had barged into the family’s house in thewee hours on August 25 in a village in Mewat district. On the fateful night, the assailants had first killed thecouple, who were 40 years of age, with sharp edged weapons andthen injured six other members of the family, all of whom weresleeping in the house, located near the fields in the village. They had also ransacked the house, an isolated structurelocated in the middle of farmland, and fled with somevaluables including cash, police had said earlier. Among the injured included two women, aged 18 and 22years, who were sexually assaulted by the assailants. Theywere relatives of the couple, according to police. After committing the crime, the accused had tied theinjured with ropes and escaped from the spot. Some residentsliving nearby found the injured after which the police hadbeen informed about the incident. The family of the victims had alleged that they hadinformed the police personnel about the cow vigilantes butthey chose to ignore it. "They (attackers) asked us ‘you eat cow meat’. We said’no’. They then said ‘you eat cow meat’. They said ‘we arekilling you because you eat cow’. "We told this to the police but they are not doinganything," one of the two victims had claimed. Yesterday, BSP president Mayawati had lashed out atHaryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for termingthe Mewat gang-rape and double-murder case a "small issue" andasked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take note of "anti-woman" mentality of a "person occupying such a high post". PTISUN ARK RTARK