Uttar Pradesh police forced the cremation of a 19-year-old Dalit woman from Hathras who died after being brutally raped by four men, the victim’s family said on Wednesday, drawing the ire of locals and political rivals they accused. Yogi Adityanath’s government to try to suppress the collection of additional forensic evidence and prevent further protests.
District officials maintained that they had the consent of the woman’s family, but the manner in which the events occurred raised questions about the administration’s conduct and law enforcement. The woman succumbed to her injuries in Delhi on Tuesday and the body was transferred later that night to her hometown, 200 kilometers away. The cremation took place at 2.30 am amid a heavy deployment of the police, which prevented locals and the media from approaching the scene.
SEE | Relatives of Hathra’s victim say that the policemen cremated her body “by force”; protests break out
“The police have forcibly taken the body and my father along with them for cremation. When my father arrived in Hathras, the police immediately took him (to the crematorium), ”the woman’s brother told the PTI news agency.
Also read: Hathras gang rape: BJP observes return of Dalit riots
“The police did not heed our request for cremation during the day on Wednesday. The police were engaged in cremation at night and carried it out by force ”, alleged a villager.
Hathras District Magistrate (DM) Praveen Kumar denied the charges. “The funeral was carried out with the proper permission of the father. No one in the family, except a few, has brought such charges. Initially, the family was not prepared to transfer the victim to Delhi for better treatment, but then they agreed, ”added the DM.
Members of Dalit groups and activists claimed that the early morning cremation was carried out to prevent any mobilization or protest in the village. “The whole world is watching how the government and the police together cremated our sister in the absence of her family. I have been arrested and placed under house arrest in Saharanpur; but we will continue to fight, ”said Chandrasekhar Azad, the head of the Bhim Army who had led the protests outside the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi on Tuesday.
Also read: More outrage, protests after the cremation of the victim of Hathras
On Wednesday afternoon, hundreds of people gathered in the main Hathras market area in protest before police used tear gas and force to break up the unrest. Demonstrations were also held in Delhi and Kolkata, and a social activist petitioned the Supreme Court to request a federal investigation into the case.
The victim was attacked and raped on September 14 in a field near her home in Hathras district. Details of the barbaric assault emerged last week, and the woman was taken to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, where she fought for her life until Tuesday.
Adityanath spoke with the woman’s father and established a three-member special investigation team (SIT), saying that a fast-track court would handle the case. The prime minister also announced ₹ 25 lakh in compensation for the victim’s family and a job for a family member.
Also read: Nirbhaya of Hathras assassinated by an insensitive government: Sonia Gandhi
In a tweet, the prime minister’s office said the prime minister spoke to Adityanath about the case. “The respected Prime Minister @narendramodi Ji has spoken about the Hathras incident and said that strict action must be taken against the culprits,” the publication said.
The men arrested for the crime will now face charges under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, according to Hathras Police Superintendent Vikrant Vir.
The family left Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi on Tuesday night amid heavy police deployment and arrived in the village of Hathras.After the arrival of the woman’s body, a relative told PTI.
Although they were present in the village, the relatives claimed that they were not allowed to see the body before the last rites. A video recorded by locals shows the woman’s mother saying, “I wanted my daughter to come home first. At least we could have applied ‘haldi’ on her body. This was her last goodbye. She won’t be coming back now. “
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the hasty cremation was aimed at “destroying evidence”.
On Twitter, the former head of state minister said that cremating the rape victim under “pressure” from the administration without the “consent” of her family was against the culture of the state. “This act of destroying evidence is reprehensible,” he wrote.
Also read: AAP demands CBI investigation in Hathras case, FIRs against Delhi police for ‘assault’ on MLA
Congressional leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Adityanath must resign as he has “no moral right” to continue.
“After 15 days, he (Adityanath) has made a statement and what does it say that ‘PM called and I have constituted a SIT’. She was waiting for the prime minister’s phone call, she couldn’t do anything for 15 days, he didn’t give her treatment, he didn’t take her to a good hospital, they took her to Delhi just the day before yesterday, ”said the secretary general of Congress. .
Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantra Dev said the government acted quickly and set up an SIT to investigate the case within a specified time frame. “Let me assure you that all those responsible for heinous crimes will be dealt with appropriately,” he said.
Former Uttar Pradesh Police Director General Prakash Singh said the teenager’s rape was a tragedy, but that the police reaction after her death on Tuesday was “a double tragedy.”
“The handling of his cremation should have been in a better way. The police are competent enough to deal with any possible public order crisis in these situations. They should have trusted the young woman’s family. Her family was already traumatized and should have allowed her to see the body or perform the final rites, ”she said.
“The police action has only aggravated the problem and mistrust. It is a leadership failure and was mishandled. Who gave the orders for the midnight cremation? Was it issued by the director general, the inspector general or a political figure, maybe someone at the ministerial level, ”said Singh, who led the Uttar Pradesh police between 1991 and 1993.
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