UP girl studying in US dies in road accident after alleged harassment

A 20-year-old Indian student studying in the US lost her life on Tuesday in a bike accident while trying to escape from her harassers. Sudeeksha Bhati, a resident of Dadri, was travelling with her brother and uncle to visit her relatives in Bulandshahr where she was chased by two bike-borne harassers on the Aurangabad highway. However, the Bulandshahr Police ruled out the harassment angle.

As per the reports, the two accused accosted Sudeeksha’s bike and also did stunts to catch her eye on the road. Further, the harassers applied their brakes suddenly after overtaking the victim’s bike which led to a similar reaction from Sudeeksha’s uncle Satyendra, who was riding the bike. The sudden braking disbalanced Bhati’s bike and she fell to the side of the road, hitting her head on the divider and eventually she lost her life.

However, Bulandshahr Police denied all charges of alleged harassment and tried to wash away the case as a road accident. “Women aren’t harassed anymore in Bulandshahr and most parts of Uttar Pradesh anymore. This is a case of reckless driving and an accident,” said a police officer, who did not wish to be identified. The UP Police claims to have arrested two individuals involved in the incident but the brother and uncle are unable to identify the nabbed. On Tuesday, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to look into the matter.

Her tragic death sparked sharp reactions from political parties. Former UP Chief Minister Mayawati was first to react. While condemning the incident, she tweeted, “The promising student Sudeeksha Bhati, who was going on a bike with her uncle in Bulandshahar, lost her life due to eve-teasing, which is extremely sad, embarrassing and very condemnable. How will daughters progress? BSP strongly demands that the UP government should take strict legal action against the culprits immediately.”

After Mayawati, Congress leader and in-charge of UP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra came out on social media to slam the Yogi government. She said that this incident showed there was no fear of law in the state.