Mainpuri case: Forensic lab finds semen on girl's innerwear

 In a new twist to the mysterious death of a 16-year-old girl student in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri, the Agra Forensic Laboratory has confirmed that semen traces have been found on the girl's innerwear.

The girl's family has been insisting that she was sexually assaulted before being killed. The family said that there were injury marks on the girl's body but the post mortem report did not mention this.

A senior police official, however, said that this does not confirm that the girl was sexually assaulted.

"It will take some more investigation before we reach any conclusion about this. We are conducting DNA sampling and hopefully we will be able to get to the bottom of the case soon," said a senior official of the three-member SIT team that is probing the case.

The SIT is now awaiting permission for the polygraph tests of five suspects, including three students.

The polygraph test will be conducted in a day or two after obtaining permission from the court.

The team, on Tuesday, recreated the events preceding the death of the girl.

According to police, the girl had left a suicide note in which she wrote that she was being humiliated for the past few years for a mistake she committed three years ago - stealing a packet of snacks.

However, her family members had alleged that the girl was murdered and accused the school authorities of not informing them about the incident even after she was declared dead in the district hospital.

The 16-year-old girl was found hanging in a prayer room of the residential school on September 16.

The SIT, headed by IG (Kanpur Range) Mohit Agarwal, interacted with the panel of doctors who conducted the post-mortem of the girl and also students who were studying with her.

Meanwhile, the family members of the three students who are being questioned, have alleged that their children are being harassed by the police.

Talking to this correspondent on condition of anonymity, one of the student's family members said that their children are not hardcore criminals but are still being treated like one.

An FIR was filed by the girl's father, a day after the incident was reported, against Principal Sushma Sagar, Warden of the school, a male student of the Art stream and one unidentified person.

They were booked under section 302 (murder), attempt to rape, section 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC and sections 7, 8, 18 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act by the police.

The SIT also questioned a class 12 student, one year senior to the 16-year-old victim, who was reportedly seen with her before the latter was found hanging in the dormitory.

The girl student was questioned for over 30 minutes and she told the police that around 9.15 p.m. on the night of September 15, the victim had come to sleep in her room. The girl also told police that the victim had got up around 1 a.m and walked out. Some other students then saw her walking in the lobby at 2.30 a.m. According to a medical report, the girl had died at 6.30 a.m on September 16.

The SIT has met close to 50 children and 10 faculty members of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Mainpuri, questioning them about the sequence of events on the fateful day.IANS