The bodies of two minor sisters were found hanging from a tree in Lalpur Majra Tamoli Purva village of the Lakhimpur Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.

According to reports, the deceased belonged to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community. The incident took place under the Nighasan police station in the Lakhimpur Kheri district.

Locals including the family of victims marched a protest and blocked the road demanding justice for the girls. Staging a demonstration at the Nighasan crossing, they accused three men of raping and killing the sisters.

Lakhimpur Kheri superintendent of police (SP) Sanjiv Suman along with a police team rushed to the spot and assured the villagers of strict action against the culprits.

The Lucknow range inspector general (IG) of police Laxmi Singh was quoted by ANI as saying, “Dead bodies of two girls were found hanging from a tree in a field outside a village in Lakhimpur Kheri. No injuries were found on the bodies.”

The bodies have been retrieved and sent for post-mortem, reports of which are yet to arrive. “Other things to be ascertained after post-mortem. We'll try to expedite the probe,” added IG Singh.

Officials present there urged the villagers to call off the roadblock and cooperate with the post-mortem examination.

Meanwhile, following the incident, the Congress has questioned the situation of law and order in the state.

Expressing grief over the incident, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “The incident of murder of two sisters in Lakhimpur (UP) is heart-wrenching. The relatives say that those girls were abducted in broad daylight. Giving false advertisements in newspapers and TV every day does not improve law and order. After all, why are heinous crimes against women increasing in UP?”

Further details in the matter are awaited.