The family of a 19-year-old Dalit woman from Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, who died in a Delhi hospital from injuries sustained when she was gang-raped, have alleged that she was forcibly beaten.
The family claimed that the police took the woman’s body in the middle of the night for the final rites.
“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.
Police, for their part, said the woman’s cremation was carried out “according to the wishes of the family,” according to PTI.
Read also | ‘We hoped she would survive’: unrest engulfs rape victim’s village of Hathras
She was raped in the village of Hathras in Uttar Pradesh by four men on 14 September and died 15 days after suffering serious injuries. The woman was first taken to Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital and Medical College in Aligarh, but was transferred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi after her condition worsened.
He was in critical condition and on respiratory support.
The brutality against the teenager has sparked outrage across the country with various political leaders, Bollywood actors and activists demanding justice for her.
The case has drawn parallels to the gang rape of a 23-year-old student in Delhi, who was attacked in a moving bus and left to die on the side of the road in 2012.
“A Dalit girl who was the victim of demonic behavior in Hathras has died in Safdarjung Hospital. For two weeks, she continued to fight between life and death in the hospitals, ”Congress Secretary General Priyanka Gandhi said on Twitter. She added that the rape incidents in Hathras, Shahjahanpur and Gorakhpur had shaken the state.
Also read: Outrage, uproar after the death of Hathras rape victim
Delhi Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded that the culprits be tried and hanged as soon as possible. “The death of the victim of Hathras is a shame for the whole society, the country and for all governments. It is very sad that so many daughters are sexually assaulted and we have not been able to protect them, ”Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.
The four people accused of raping the woman have been arrested.
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