Updated: October 8, 2020 10:42:27 pm
Security in the village of Hathras. (Express photo: Praveen Khanna)
The four men charged in the Hathras rape and murder case have written to the Hathras Police Superintendent, claiming that they are “innocent” and that the 19-year-old woman was beaten by her brother and mother on September 14, the day of the incident, because they were “against our friendship.”
The 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped and assaulted by four upper caste men. She was admitted to a hospital in Aligarh where she gave a statement saying that the four men “gangra” her. After the statement, the four defendants were arrested and sent to Aligarh jail on September 26. The woman died at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi three days later.
The letter that was written by the first defendant Sandeep and that also bears the fingerprints of Luv Kush, Ram Kumar and Ravi was sent to the SP on Wednesday night. In the letter, Sandeep claimed that he and the woman were “friends” who often spoke on the “phone.”
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“I was arrested on September 20 for a false case. My relatives Ram and Ravi were also arrested in this case along with a local Luv Kush. The woman (victim) was my friend. We knew each other and we also talked on the phone. His family was against our friendship, ”the letter said.
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On September 14, the defendant Sandeep said that he met the woman in the field, where her mother and brother were also present. He claimed that “he left the place when she asked him to” and was feeding his animals. Later, the villagers told Sandeep that the woman’s family beat her because she was friends with him.
“Her mother and brother beat her. He suffered serious injuries that later resulted in his death. I never hit the woman or did anything wrong. His mother and brother registered a false case against me and three other people and sent us to jail. We are innocent. Please investigate this matter and bring us justice, ”Sandeep said in the letter containing the fingerprints of the four defendants.
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Alok Singh, Senior Superintendent of Aligarh Jail said: “Yesterday we received a letter addressed to Hathras SP. By law we sent the letter to the Hathras police at night. “
The woman’s family, meanwhile, have said that the allegations and the letter are a way to defame the family. “I didn’t have a cell phone and I didn’t know how to use it. These accusations are false and the men are trying to smear us. My husband and father-in-law are very stressed. We are tired of these baseless accusations. Sandeep has been stalking my sister-in-law for months, ”said the victim’s sister-in-law.
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