Hathras gang-rape incident has sent shockwaves across India. Amid growing protests and outrage, demanding the justice of the victim, who was brutally gang-raped in the Hathras District of UP two weeks ago and succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday, the victim's body finally reached her native village on Tuesday midnight. But there were conflicts between the UP Police and the family of the victim regarding the final rites.
The UP Police allegedly called for hasty cremation, to which the family resisted and begged so they could take the girl's body home for final rites. As the ambulance carrying the victim's body arrived along with police cars, villagers gathered around and stopped the police from cremating the body in haste. The family allegedly claimed they wish to follow Hindu rituals and not cremate the body at night.
Cops refuse family's request
The videos shared on social media show the UP cops lecture victim's kin and villagers about rituals on cremation. The family had been allegedly begging to take their daughter home for some time, to which the police did not allow.
HAPPENING NOW — #Hathras rape victim’s body has reached her native village, Boolgarhi in Hathras, where the horrific incident took place. SP, DM, Joint Magistrate all here accompanying the family. My camera person Wakar and I will get you all the updates all through the night pic.twitter.com/VxEWDVVpsU
— Tanushree Pandey (@TanushreePande) September 29, 2020
The police reportedly barricaded the family of the victim inside their home. The bier, which was set nearby the victim's home, was set ablaze and the cops refused to answer if it was the body of the victim that was being cremated, videos from the scene show. But local reports suggest the victim's body was forcibly burnt without the family's approval.
In one of the videos, the victim's mother is seen crying and begging for performing the last rites by following Hindu rituals as it is her daughter's last farewell.
Hathras gang-rape
A 19-year-old Dalit woman, raped by four men in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district, died on Tuesday morning at AIIMS, Delhi. She was battling for her life and showed no improvements. After raping the 19-year-old, the accused also tried to strangulate her to death as she resisted their attempt. The teenager was later found brutally injured, with her tongue having a serious cut as she bit it while the accused attempted to strangulate her.
Hathras Superintendent of Police Vikrant Vir said that the four accused named in the rape case, namely Sandip, Ramu, Lavkush and Ravi.
There have been protests outside Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital since, demanding a death penalty for the guilty. The Delhi Police even detained Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad for leading the protests.
