UP Police have arrested two people in connection with the death of Bulandshahr Scholar Sudeeksha Bhati who was studying in the US on scholarship.
The 19-year-old, who was among one of the district toppers of class XII batch last year, died in a road accident on August 10 after alleged harassment. Her family alleged that she fell off a two-wheeler driven by her uncle who braked to avoid the two men harassing her.
The suspects have been identified as Deepak Solanki, a resident of Gulahoti, and his partner Raju, a resident of Bulandshahr Dehat. Police said that some people were “trying to twist the narrative of the incident.” “Since the girl had got a huge scholarship package (for studying in the US), there could have been a thought of demand (for compensation) in the people,” Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar Singh had said on Thursday.
The police have also recovered the Royal Enfield motorcycle used in the accident. However, the investigation has been based on the FIR of a road accident and not of harassment.
As per the Bulandshahr Police, approx 350 bikes from nearby areas were scanned while over 1000 people were questioned before finding narrowing down to suspects.
“The police scanned 12 CCTV cameras and found Sudeeksha and her cousin going on a bike at 8.25 am. The same camera captured an Enfield rider Solanki at 8.17 am on the same route. About 150 metres ahead, Solanki picked up his accomplice Raju from near Arif Hospital. The duo stopped at a petrol pump for fuel and Sudeeksha’s bike crossed the way,” he said. “The two bikes were moving in the same direction. The two motorcycles travelled 10.5 kilometres in 9 minutes on a busy road. This shows that both the motorcycles were speeding,” the Police said.
Solanki – one of the suspects, has admitted that he was riding the motorcycle on August 10 and mentioned that the accident took place because a tempo traveller going ahead suddenly applied brakes to stop himself from hitting a bullock cart that was on his way. “We have seized the Royal Enfield motorcycle used in the accident. The suspect had also modified the motorcycle’s number plate, silencer, indicator, etc,” said police.
According to Sudeeksha’s father Jitendra, she had left with her cousin and uncle for Madhavgarh to meet her grandmother on August 10. Sudeeksha’s cousin, Nigam (16), who was also on the bike, said: “The ambulance and police came after half an hour. We went to a hospital nearby, where she was declared dead. We took her to a government hospital in Bulandshahr for post-mortem. Her father was informed as soon as the accident took place.”
