The CBI on Friday filed a charge sheet against four accused persons for the gang rape and murder of a Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras in September.
The 19-year-old was allegedly raped and assaulted by Sandeep, Luvkush, Ravi and Ramu on September 14 in Hathras. She was admitted to a hospital in Aligarh, from where she was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. She died on September 29.
The CBI has invoked sections 302 (punishment for murder), 376 (punishment for rape), 376A (punishment for inflicting injury while committing rape, resulting in the death of the woman) and 376D (gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code, besides the relevant provisions of the SC/ST Act.
The four accused, who were arrested by the local police, are currently in judicial custody.
Hathras gang rape | A long caste feud, a horrific crime, and a sudden cremation
On October 1, Uttar Pradesh’s Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) Prashant Kumar said the forensic report from the government laboratory in Agra confirmed that the victim was not raped. He also cited the autopsy report to corroborate his point. “The lab report clearly says that no sperm was found in the sample.” However, he added that the victim first mentioned about rape on September 22 and that the samples were sent to the laboratory on September 25.
Priyanka Vadra statement
Stating that the truth had prevailed once again, All-India Congress Committee general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the filing of a charge sheet raised serious questions on the Adityanath government, police, ADG (Law and Order), District Magistrate of Hathras and senior functionaries of the State administration.
“The State left no stone unturned to deny the victim dignity, in life and death. She was cremated without her family's consent in the middle of the night. Senior police officers and bureaucrats outrightly denied any rape, intimidated her family and indulged in blatant shaming of the victim. Sections of media that dared to report the truth were manhandled. However, the entire might of the Uttar Pradesh government and police could not suppress the truth,” she said.
“I am heartened to see that an important step towards providing the justice has been taken by the CBI and hope that it will bring the victim's family some comfort amidst the immense suffering that they have so courageously endured,” she stated.
The case was initially registered by the Chandpa police in Hathras on a complaint from the victim's brother, who had alleged that Sandeep tried to strangle her in the millet field. In her statement on September 22, she alleged that she was gang-raped and assaulted by Sandeep, Luvkush, Ravi and Ramu.
Public outcry
Following allegations that the victim’s body was hurriedly cremated in the early hours of September 30 , there was a public outcry. The incident also triggered sharp reaction from Opposition parties. The State government referred the case to the CBI, which took over the probe on October 11 and constituted a special team.
The CBI got the crime scene examined by forensic experts. The accused persons underwent tests at the Forensic Science Laboratory at Gandhinagar. The doctors who attended to the victim were also interviewed by CBI officials. Statements of her family members were recorded for corroboration.
