Their bodies were discovered hours after two sisters went missing in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district, some 270 kilometers from the state capital Lucknow. One of the sisters was found hanging from a tree.
In the district that borders Uttarakhand and Nepal, the family lives and works in a brick kiln.
Both girls, one of whom was 18 and the other 20 years old, had left their home the night before. When they failed to return, their family members started searching for them in the nearby areas
Both bodies had accident signs, according to the police, but sexual harassment has yet to be reported.
“The family was working in a brick kiln for three-four months. Last evening, the sisters left home at around 7 pm. The family members assumed they had gone to relieve themselves, but when the women did not return, they started searching for them,” Jai Prakash, Pilibhit’s police chief, said in a statement
“One of them was found dead soon after but the police was not informed. The search continued for the second woman and her body was found on Tuesday morning, hanging from a tree. The family then informed the police, and the police came, and we have inspected the spot. So far there has been no complaint about sexual assault, but we are investigating what led to the deaths. Both the women have injury marks on their necks,” he added.
Police officers scanned the area, and a crowd of locals gathered near the scene, according to a video from the scene.
“We discovered both bodies close by. One of them was found with a cellphone next to his body. We are from another area, but we live here and work in a brick kiln,” the girls’ mother told local journalists in an interview.
