Police hastily cremated the 20-year-old woman this week while the family was locked up.
Lucknow:
Five police officers, including the Superintendent of Police, were suspended in the Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh amid growing nationwide outrage over the death of a 20-year-old woman who was allegedly raped by a group of men from an alleged “upper caste”. community.
An initial report from the Special Investigation Team or SIT investigating the incident called for its suspension on allegations of mismanagement.
Investigators have also called for a narco-analysis, also known as lie detector tests, of everyone involved, including the arrested suspects and the victim’s family.
The 20-year-old woman, who was attacked on September 14 in a field near her home in Hathras, died on Tuesday. Her body was hastily cremated at 2:30 am by police in an apparent effort to thwart protracted demonstrations.
However, protests broke out in many cities across the country, including one in Delhi on Friday attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Chandrashekar Azad, chief of the Bhim army, representing members of the Dalit community, at the that the woman belonged.
Police action in the case, including stealth cremation and curbs in town to block the media and politicians, has been particularly criticized.
Addressing the issue alone, the Allahabad High Court issued subpoenas to top Uttar Pradesh officials.
While the family says the woman died as a result of a brutal sexual assault, Senior State Police Officer Prashant Kumar said Thursday that the woman died of a neck injury. “No sperm was found in her forensic samples,” Kumar said.
The ruling BJP has accused opposition parties, including Congress, which has played a key role in the protests, of trying to politicize the issue, and assured that the victim’s family will get justice.
Facing harsh criticism and calls to resign in the wake of several such incidents in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Friday that those “who even think of damaging a woman’s self-respect will face total destruction.”
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