A minor girl was blinded for resisting rape in Gursahaiganj town in Kannauj district, about 180 km from Lucknow.
Though the incident took place on Friday, the matter went unreported until it was brought to the notice of District Superintendent of police Rajendra Singh on Saturday night.
"Two policemen including a sub-inspector have been placed under suspension for dereliction of duty as they failed to register a First Information Report against the culprits", Singh told this scribe on Sunday over telephone from Kannauj.
According to the FIR, two youths stalked 14- year old Priti when she was returning home, and dragged her to the nearby fields where they tried to sexually assault her. However, when Priti resisted, they beat her black and blue and stabbed her in both her eyes with a knife and fled.
"After she failed to return home, her parents went looking for her, and found her lying in a pool of blood, with deep gashes and wounds all over the body," the SP said.
The victim's family members told reporters in Gursahaiganj that the cops got into action only after they approached the local ruling Bahujan Samaj Party member of legislative assembly Tahir Hussain Siddiqui and local Zila Parishad Chairman Tehsin Siddiqui.
But even then, the local police station took no action for at least six more hours before finally registering a case of attempt to murder against the boys identified as Niranjan and Kuldeep, who are absconding.
The SP admitted, "Both boys who were students of class X and XII, and were known to have made obscene overtures to the girl in the past as well."
He added, "We have launched a manhunt for them. Meanwhile we have taken action against the two policemen who did not act promptly to the initial complaint made by the girl's parents."
As for the victim, no sooner than the incident hit the headlines on TV channels, the Kannauj police on Sunday rushed her to the Kanpur medical college for specialised medical treatment.
