The body of Hathras’s victim was cremated in the dead of night.
The first informative report (FIR) was presented at the Chandpa police station on Sunday afternoon and the names of the accused are unknown, according to police officials.
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Hathras Police filed an FIR against “unknown” persons for allegedly attempting to spark a caste conflict and invoked serious charges, including sedition, authorities said Monday. The incident comes amidst pressure from various social, political and citizen groups for justice to be done for the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman after she was allegedly ganged up on.
The Uttar Pradesh police have also claimed they have uncovered an “international plot” to smear the state government and instigate caste-based riots. The first information report (FIR) was filed at the Chandpa police station on Sunday afternoon and names unidentified people as accused, according to police officials.
A website – justiceforhathrasvictim.carrd.co – that released information on how to safely protest and avoid police has been linked to the “conspiracy,” sources told the Indian Express.
The site, which lists the dos and don’ts to stay safe during riots and be careful while police fire tear gas, is now unavailable. Most of the content had been copied from Black Lives Matter protesters in the United States, the sources added.
The FIR mentions 19 charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The sections of the IPC include 124A (sedition), 505 (with the intention of causing public alarm and inducing someone to commit a crime against the state or public tranquility), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups).
The police have also invoked section 67 (transmission of obscene material in electronic form) of the TI Law, according to the FIR. The UP government’s statements and the facts related to the Hathras incident are being falsified, manipulated and disseminated through social media. Misleading content is shared with counterfeit media company logos, a police officer told PTI.
Some defendants are circulating material that could trigger a caste conflict and these are serious crimes considering the current situation in the region, the official said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. According to local officials, the Hathras police have so far registered around a dozen complaints under the TI Law related to the case of the Dalit girl and are being investigated by Cyber Cell.
The Dalit teenager had died of serious injuries in a Delhi hospital on September 29, 15 days after she was allegedly raped in her village by four upper-caste men. She was cremated in the early morning of September 30. While the family claimed that the cremation was carried out against their wishes, police said the last rights in the dead of night were carried out “according to the wishes of the family.” The incidents have sparked massive outrage across the country, prompting severe criticism of the UP government, which has now recommended a CBI investigation into the entire episode.
Meanwhile, CM Yogi Adityanath said on Monday that his opponents were plotting against him by trying to put a
foundation for caste and communal disturbances through international funding. “During the last week, the opposition parties were eager to see riots. We need to move forward amid all these conspiracies,” he said.
“BJP workers must dedicate themselves to the development of the country. It is difficult for the anti-social and anti-national elements to accept the development of the state as they always wanted a Uttar Pradesh ravaged by unrest. So now they are hatching conspiracies,” he said.
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