UP girl's rape and murder: Will docs be arrested?

Even as two of the three accused cops were still at large, the Uttar Pradesh government was planning to now book three doctors for destruction of evidence in the case of alleged rape and murder of 14-year old Sonam inside the Nighasan police station premises in Lakhimpur-Kheri district, about 170 km from Lucknow on June 10.

According to a top government source, a FIR was likely to be lodged against the three doctors involved in carrying out the first post-mortem on the victim and certifying that the death was caused due to 'asphyxia,' thereby leaving enough scope for cops to dismiss it as a case of 'suicide.'

It was the second post-mortem carried out by another team of doctors from Lucknow that confirmed 'strangulation' whereby murder could be established.

The proposed action against the doctors is bound to strengthen the government's plea before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court where hearing was due on a PIL seeking Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the case on Friday.

While issuing notice on Wednesday, the court had directed the state government to furnish details of the action taken in the case on June 17.

A top police official of the state told, "It was quite apparent that the doctors associated with the first post-mortem had not done an honest job; sure enough, their report was influenced by extraneous factors and therefore untrustworthy."

He went on to add, "We, therefore, cannot allow them to go scot free."

In a related development, the girl's father Intezar Ali and mother Tarranum on Thursday submitted a fresh memorandum to the local SDM, reiterated their demand for a CBI probe into the gory crime.

This followed refusal of the local administration to take cognisance of the earlier memorandum that was addressed to Lakhimpur-Kheri MP Zafar Ali Naqvi who had forwarded it with a covering note to the district magistrate.

The revised formal demand for CBI inquiry was understood to have been faxed to the state home department for further action.