Twist to Badaun case: DNA report says victims were not raped

New Delhi: In a new twist to the Badaun killings case, the Hyderabad-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) has ruled out sexual assault on the teenage girls whose bodies were found hanging from a tree in May this year. [caption id=“attachment_1673409” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Family members of the Badaun victims. PTI[/caption] CBI sources said it is crucial information from one of the most reputed government labs which has cleared a lot of doubts about the theory of the cousins being sexually assaulted before being killed and the needle of suspicion is now on the family members. The sources said they are not ruling out honour killing angle. The sources said the report has ruled out sexual assault on the victims and it will now be sent to a three-member medical panel for forming an opinion on the mysterious killings. They said with sexual assault being ruled out, the accused clearing the lie-detection test and inconsistencies in the statements of eye-witness, the suspicion is now on the family members. The sources said they are not ruling out honour killing angle in the matter but have not concluded anything so far. Sources in the CBI said that the agency will not exhume the bodies now as the report from CDFD has given them enough forensic evidence which could help them crack the case. The sources said the bail pleas of five accused – Pappu, Awadhesh and Urvesh Yadav (all three brothers) and constables Chhatrapal Yadav and Sarvesh Yadav–will not be opposed by the agency as there is no clear evidence against them. According to the law, an accused can get bail if CBI fails to file a charge sheet against them within 90 days that ends on 28 August. The two cousin sisters–aged 14 and 15–were found hanging from a tree in Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh in the last week of May, an incident which sparked national outrage with the Samajwadi Party government in the state coming under fire on the issue of law and order situation. The findings of CBI are in sync with the observations of Uttar Pradesh DGP A L Banerjee who had claimed that the rape of one of the victims was not confirmed and property could be one of the motives behind the crime. PTI