Updated: December 19, 2020 8:03:09 am
The 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four upper caste men in Hathras on September 14 and later died at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi on September 29.
CONTRADICATING the Uttar Pradesh police claim that the 19-year-old Dalit woman killed in Hathras allegedly by upper caste men had not been raped, the CBI on Friday filed a charge sheet against the four on gangrape and murder charges.
The charge sheet was filed in a Hathras court under Sections 376 (rape), 376 (D) (murder), 302 (murder) of the IPC and the relevant Sections of the SC / ST Act, against Sandeep ( 20), his uncle Ravi (35) and his friends Ramu (26) and Luv Kush (23).
the teenager was allegedly assaulted by the four on September 14 and died a fortnight later at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. A post-mortem report attributed his death to an injury to the cervical spine, caused by direct indirect trauma.
The CBI issued a statement saying that a charge sheet had been filed against the four defendants. “The case was registered by CBI on October 11, 2020 at the request of the government of Uttar Pradesh and a new notification from the government of India.”
Hathras case | The role of officials is clear, the truth cannot be hidden: family
The CBI, which conducted polygraph tests and brain mapping of the defendant, had submitted an investigative report to the Allahabad High Court, which had learned of the case, on November 26. CBI sources said they filed the charge sheet after collecting “extensive forensic evidence.” “The only charge that has been dropped is that of sexual abuse, but that is because the rape and gangrape charge was found during the forensic investigation. The investigation yielded sufficient evidence to prosecute the charges of murder, rape and gangrape, “said the sources.
“Now it is up to the court to deliberate on the charges. A copy of the charge sheet will be provided at the next hearing. We will review the charge sheet and decide the next course of action, ”said Munna Singh, the defendant’s attorney. The four defendants have been in judicial custody since their arrest in September, without a request for bail being filed on their behalf.
In a statement late Friday, the state government said it was up to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to order a CBI investigation, and that it had told the Supreme Court in an affidavit that it wanted it to be know the truth. The statement added: “The defendants were arrested (under) the relevant Sections after the girl’s statement.”
The 19-year-old was allegedly raped by the four men on the morning of September 14 while she was gathering fodder with her mother for the family’s cows. The family said the four took her away without her mother noticing, that she is hard of hearing. A case of attempted murder was registered and under the SC / ST Law about a complaint by the victim’s brother against Sandeep. On September 22, in a statement registered at the Aligarh hospital, where she was transferred due to her deteriorating condition, the woman said that she was sexually assaulted and named three others in addition to Sandeep.
Controversy arose over the late registration of rape charges, followed by the hasty cremation of the victim in the middle of the night, without the assistance of any member of his family and organized by the administration. His family accused the authorities of pressuring them to carry out their last rites.
Later, when political leaders, including Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi, attempted to head to the village to meet his family, the Uttar Pradesh authorities cordoned off the area.
With the state government under attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervened and called in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, leading to the establishment of an SIT to investigate the matter and the suspension of five police officers. The Adityanath government then transferred the investigation to the CBI, which registered a case on October 11.
At a press conference in Lucknow, a couple of days after the victim’s death, Additional Director General (Law & Order) Prashant Kumar said that the forensic report did not show any evidence of rape. “… No sperm or sperm were found in the viscera sample. The post-mortem report states that the cause of death was due to the trauma caused by the assault. Despite the statements of the officials, misinformation was spread in the media, “he said, adding that the initial complaint only spoke of” maar-peet “, without mentioning the rape.
Hearing suo motu, the Lucknow Court of the Allahabad High Court objected to the police statement. “We asked Sri Kumar (ADG Kumar) whether it was appropriate for anyone not directly related to the investigation to comment on any evidence related to the alleged crime, especially if the accusation is of rape, or to draw conclusions as to whether it was committed. or no crime, when the investigation was still pending and that person was not part of the investigation … He justly agreed that it should not happen ”.
The court also noted that after the 2013 amendments to the law related to the definition of rape, “the mere absence of semen during the forensic examination, although a factor to be considered, would not by itself be conclusive as to whether committed a violation or not, there is other admissible evidence ”.
In attacking the BJP government, the opposition said the charge sheet showed that no one achieved anything in Uttar Pradesh without fighting, including justice. Priyanka Gandhi said: “This development raises serious questions for the Adityanath government, the UP Police.”
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