Girl who was buried alive, rescued in UP

Lucknow : A villager has told of his horror after rescuing a young girl named Tanu, who had been buried alive in a cane field.

Alok Kumar, a native of Maanpur village in the neighbouring Sitapur district, was returning from his fields on Monday evening when he heard a girl's desperate cries for help.

He followed the muffled cries and reached the middle of a cane field, where to his shock, he found the soil moving.

Kumar started digging and unearthed Tanu, who was in a semi-conscious state. He quickly pulled her out and rushed her to the nearby Maanpur police station.

The girl had strangulation marks on her neck, and after gaining consciousness, informed the police that she is a native of Semri Gaura village, where she lived with her mother Renu Awasthi in Hariomnagar of Madiyon in Lucknow.

She was taken away from her home by a couple, who have been reported to be her aunt and uncle, and they later tried to strangle her.

"Tanu has told us that a couple took her with them a few days ago and tried to strangulate her. They later buried her in the field. She, however, could not recognise them," SP (Sitapur) Rajesh Krishna told Mail Today. The Sitapur police got in touch with the Lucknow Police, who were able to trace Tanu's house.

According to the neighbours, nobody had seen the victim and her mother since August 20. The house was found to be locked. As news of the girl's rescue flashed onto TV channels, the victim's maternal grandmother Rajrani approached the police.