The exhumation of the bodies of the two girls allegedly raped and killed in Badaun was called off on Sunday as their graves were found to be further submerged under water even as rainfall in the area continued. Officials said they could exhume the bodies after two-three months when the waters recede.
Terming the operation as just an ?effort? to get ?additional? evidence, the CBI team along with a medical board then proceeded to recreate the scene of the crime.
The officials arrived at the site of the girls? graves around 11 am, when it was realised that the water level in the area had risen since Saturday, when the first attempt at exhumation was made.
?The water has submerged the graves to five feet. The situation is not appropriate for exhumation,? said Dr Adarsh Kumar, chairman of the medical board, that includes experts from Delhi?s AIIMS, Safdurjung Hospital and Maulana Azad Medical College.
Experts of the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation Ltd and Irrigation Department too visited the site for installing advanced equipment and found the water level very high. They will review the situation on Monday, said the CBI spokesperson.
To recreate the scene of the crime, officials examined the height from which the deceased were hanged, as well as the distance between the two branches from which they were suspended. A rope similar to the one used in their case was hung and the strength of the branch and the rope checked.
The officials then called Baburam, the uncle of the girls, who claimed to have first discovered their bodies, for cross-examination. ?They asked me what all was present at the site,? said Baburam.
On Saturday night, the father of one of the girls was called to the spot for questioning. ?They asked me what I had seen. I told them the dupatta with which the younger girl was hung was not the one she was wearing when she went missing,? said Sohan Lal.
