The family of the Dalit woman from Uttar Pradesh, who died days after being gang-raped and tortured in Hathras, have alleged that a senior district official made them feel “pressure” by visiting them today. A 22-second video of Hathras District Magistrate Praveen Kumar speaking with the family in a courtyard has been widely shared online.
The video shows Kumar telling the woman’s father that the media will be leaving in a day or two and that he should stick to his statement.
“These people in the media are not here to stay. Half would leave today and the rest will leave tomorrow and only a few will remain. We are the ones who would be with you and therefore it is your wish whether you wish to change your statements or not. Do not damage your credibility, otherwise we could also change… ”, says the district magistrate in the video, before it ends abruptly.
There is another video showing a woman from the victim’s family blaming the district administration for pressuring the victim’s father.
Repeated efforts were made to obtain the version of the district magistrate on this matter, but he did not answer the call.
When asked, Aligarh Division Commissioner GS Priyadarshi indicated that he was not aware of the content of the video.
“I can react once I come across the content of said video,” Priyadarshi said.
A senior Uttar Pradesh police officer said today that the forensic report has revealed that the woman was not raped. Citing a report from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), ADG (Law & Order) Prashant Kumar said the cause of his death is a neck injury and the resulting trauma.
“The FSL report has arrived. It clearly says that the samples did not have sperm. Make it clear that there was no rape or gang rape, ”said Kumar.
Last week, Hathras ASP Prakash Kumar had told the media that the defendants were initially booked for attempted murder under Section 307 of the IPC. Later, upon receiving more supplies, Section 376-D (gangrape) of the IPC was added to the FIR, he had said.
On Wednesday, the family had denounced that the UP police forced the cremation of the woman who was brutally raped by four men. The Yogi Adityanath government has been accused of attempting to suppress the collection of additional forensic evidence and prevent further protests through forced cremation.
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.
“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.
Hathras DM Praveen Kumar had 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. At first, the family was not prepared to transfer the victim to Delhi for better treatment, but then they accepted, ”the DM had told PTI.
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