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India 'hanged' girls 'took their own lives' India hanged girls 'took their own lives'
(about 2 hours later)
India's top investigation agency has confirmed to the BBC that two teenage cousins who had allegedly been gang-raped and murdered had, in fact, taken their own lives. Two teenage Indian girls found hanging from a tree in May took their own lives and were not gang-raped and murdered, federal investigators have said.
The girls were found hanged from a tree in Uttar Pradesh state in May and the case sparked global outrage. The announcement came after months of inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation following global outrage.
Three men who were arrested in connection with the case were freed on bail in September. Three men arrested in connection with the case in northern Uttar Pradesh state were freed on bail in September.
New forensic tests had also concluded the girls were not sexually assaulted. It is unclear why the girls might have taken their lives. Correspondents say there are many unanswered questions.
The girls, who were from a lower caste, were found hanged from a mango tree in Badaun district on 28 May. Women's rights activists say they are not happy with the latest findings and are urging the CBI to continue investigating.
The girls, thought to have been 14 and 15, went missing when they had apparently gone out to relieve themselves as they had no toilet at home. Their bodies were discovered the following day. 'Forty scientific reports'
"Yes, we have cracked the Badaun case. Our probe found that the two girls had committed suicide and weren't murdered," Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief Ranjit Sinha was quoted as telling the Hindustan Times newspaper. The lower caste cousins, thought to have been 14 and 15, were found hanged from a mango tree in Badaun district on 28 May.
"The local police had erroneously conducted their probe along the lines that the sisters were killed." They went missing after apparently going outside to relieve themselves during the night as they had no toilet at home.
A local post-mortem examination had initially confirmed multiple sexual assaults and death due to hanging. A local post-mortem examination initially confirmed multiple sexual assaults and death due to hanging.
Federal investigators later said the clothes and personal effects of the girls had been examined by the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) and it found no proof of sexual assault. But forensic tests conducted since then have concluded the girls were been sexually assaulted, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said.
The court bailed the three accused after federal investigators refused to charge them, citing a lack of evidence. "Based on around 40 scientific reports the CBI has concluded that the two minor girls in the Badaun case had not been raped and murdered as had been alleged in the FIR [first information report]," CBI spokeswoman Kanchan Prasad said on Thursday.
"Investigation has concluded that it is a case of suicide."
Earlier, CBI chief Ranjit Sinha told the Hindustan Times newspaper they had "cracked the Badaun case".
"The local police had erroneously conducted their probe along the lines that the sisters were killed," he said.
The Hindustan Times report suggested the girls might have been under "family pressure" because of a friendship with a villager that relatives disapproved of.
Correspondents say the story of the hangings became murkier and murkier over the few months, with officials raising questions over the testimony of the victims' families, accusing them of failing lie-detector tests.
Investigators also raised doubts about the credibility of the main witness, a neighbour of the girls.
It is also became clear that the CBI did not trust the original local police investigation.
In September a court bailed the three accused after federal investigators refused to charge them, citing a lack of evidence.
Two constables, who were also arrested along with the accused and charged with dereliction of duty and criminal conspiracy for not taking the parents' complaint seriously, were also bailed in September.Two constables, who were also arrested along with the accused and charged with dereliction of duty and criminal conspiracy for not taking the parents' complaint seriously, were also bailed in September.
Correspondents say the story of the hangings had got murkier over the past few months with officials raising questions over the testimony of the victims' families, accusing them of failing lie-detector tests. Federal investigators have said the clothes and personal effects of the girls were examined by the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) in Hyderabad and it found no proof of sexual assault.
Investigators had also raised doubts about the credibility of the main witness, a neighbour of the girls.