Month on, Hathras village shuts itself in silence

HATHRAS: The village that was home to the 19-year-old Dalit girl has clamped shut. It has been a month since she was allegedly gang-raped, strangled and left to die. And the village has grown guarded and evasive.
“We have work to get to,” a Dalit woman says when asked if she could speak for a bit. There are four Dalit families in the village — the girl’s was one — who had been trained in keeping to themselves.Now, they know, is the time to fall back on that. All of them refuse to talk. The otherwise vocal upper caste families — there are 60 — have decided they would rather not get into this. And the families of the four accused, all upper caste, are, at best, economical with their speech. A CBI investigation is under way — the seriousness of the crime and its implications appear to have hit home. The immense scrutiny the case has drawn is not something life here prepares you for.
The way to the victim’s house is a heavily monitored one. There are three levels of checks (up by a level since the last time TOI visited) — at the entry to the village, around the victim’s house and then at the house itself. The metal detector is still in place outside. The glare of the CCTV cameras, being installed the last time TOI visited, misses no one. Just to be sure, cops posted outside the house make a note of every individual entering and leaving the house.
When a media person starts talking to the family, a local intelligence unit official jumps in and starts recording the conversation on video. “We need to have a record of all statements the victim’s family makes,” the official said. “It is only for their safety. It is to ensure no one misguides the family into saying something. If they refuse, conversations will not be recorded.”
The family steps out once or twice a day, but goes back inside after brief interactions with the media. The questions are often the same, the answers repeated under the watchful eyes of the police and cameras. The women come out and cook, wrap up household chores and feed the cattle. But for the most part, the doors are shut.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)