The police in Uttar Pradesh said a dismembered body of a 15-year-old Dalit girl was found in a maize field in Kanpur’s Dehat district on Saturday, PTI reported. The police suspect that the girl, who was missing for a week, was killed over a property dispute.

Superintendent of Police of Kanpur Dehat Keshav Kumar Choudhary claimed the girl was abducted and killed by her uncles, ruling out the possibility of rape.

Choudhary said they have arrested two of the girl’s uncles, 65-year-old Brij Lal and 60-year-old Jiya Lal. They have allegedly confessed to killing her over a property dispute. The teenager’s father had accused them of murdering his daughter over the land dispute, according to Hindustan Times.

The police officer said local residents found the girl’s body 500 metres away from her native Gaholia Rura village. Her body was partially eaten, possibly by wild animals, he added.

Choudhary said the body of the girl has been sent for autopsy and they were waiting for the results to ascertain the exact cause of her death.

Four-year-old girl raped in Uttar Pradesh village

Meanwhile, the police said a four-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her relative under the limits of Khair police station in Aligarh.

Superintendent of Police of Aligarh Rural Shubham Patel said the girl was admitted to a hospital and her condition was stable.

The incidents came amid nationwide outrage over the gangrape and murder of a 20-year-old woman in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh. Opposition leaders have highlighted several other violent incidents in the state in recent days, including allegations of a similar gangrape of a Dalit woman in Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh.

On Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Congress Chief Ajay Kumar Lallu said there was “lawlessness” in the state after he was placed under house-arrest.

Ninety-two former civil servants have also written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath, expressing concern at the “brazen violation of the rule of law” in the state in connection with the Hathras gangrape case.

“Just when we thought that nothing could numb our consciences and brains further, the handling of the Hathras incident by the Uttar Pradesh administration has shown that, as a nation, we are plumbing the depths of depravity and callousness in governance,” their statement said.

However, Adityanath had on Friday asserted that his government was committed to the safety of women. “Those who even think of harming mothers and daughters in Uttar Pradesh, their destruction is assured,” the chief minister said in a tweet. “They will get such punishment that will set an example for the future. The government of Uttar Pradesh is committed to the safety and security and development of all mothers and sisters. This is our commitment and promise.”