A girl pursuing higher education in the US died in her native Uttar Pradesh after falling off her brother’s motorcycle when two bike-borne youths who had allegedly been chasing the siblings, making lewd comments and gestures and performing stunts, caused an accident.

The Uttar Pradesh police chief, even before a probe had been conducted, initially said the incident was just a road accident and rejected the allegations of harassment and bike stunts, but took a more accommodating stand after the 19-year-old girl’s father chastised him bitterly and accused the police of not taking the case seriously before the media began reporting on it.

The tragedy unfolded when Noida girl Sudiksha Bhati, 19, who had been pursuing an undergraduate degree in entrepreneurship from Babson College in Massachusetts on a scholarship from an Indian company, and her younger brother were returning from a relative’s home in Bulandshahr district on Monday morning.

Sudiksha, who had done her schooling from the VidyaGyan Leadership Academy run by the Shiv Nadar Foundation in Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida) and got admission to Babson College in 2018, had returned to India by a repatriation flight in May because of the pandemic.

Jitendra Bhati, Sudiksha’s father who runs a small dhaba in Dadri, Gautam Buddha Nagar, said on Tuesday: “Sudiksha had gone to see some relatives at her maternal uncle’s village in the Aurangabad area of Bulandshahar district (40km from Dadri) two days ago. She was returning with her brother on Monday morning when two youths on two Bullet motorbikes began chasing them.

“My son told me that they were not only passing lewd remarks but also making obscene gestures. They were also doing stunts on their motorcycles. This continued for about 3km. Then one of them overtook my son’s motorcycle and suddenly applied the brakes. My son’s bike hit the Bullet and Sudiksha fell on the road and suffered head injuries.”

Sudisksha was taken to hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. Her younger brother has suffered minor injuries.

Atul Srivastava, the superintendent of police of Bulandshahr, said: “We have registered a case against the two unidentified motorcycle-borne goons and will arrest them.”

However, Uttar Pradesh police director-general H.C. Awasthi initially rejected the allegations of molestation and bike stunts. “Prima facie, it is a case of road accident. There is no information of stunts or molestation.”

But after Sudiksha’s father criticised the comments, the media reported the incident and CCTV footage showed the Bullet-borne youths chasing the siblings’ bike, Awasthi said: “We are probing all angles.”

When reporters had informed Jitendra about Awasthi’s initial comments, the bereaved father had said: “The DGP can say this because the victim is not his daughter. Two goons followed my son’s motorcycle on two Bullets for about 3km. They frequently overtook my children’s bike to harass and terrorise them. The DGP can say anything. The police didn’t register my complaint on Monday. They rushed to my house today (Tuesday) when the news was flashed on television channels. The case was registered 24 hours after I submitted my complaint (in Aurangabad).”

Former chief minister and BSP chief Mayawati condemned the incident. “Sudiksha Bhati, a talented student…, lost her life because of the molesters. It is sad, shameful and most condemnable. How will our daughters move forward? The UP government must take legal action against the guilty persons.”

After taking over as chief minister in 2017, Adityanath had formed “Anti-Romeo Squads” with cops as members to check harassment of women. However, squad members themselves were found involved in various crimes, including sexual harassment. The squad is currently defunct.