Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has submitted its affidavit before Supreme Court stating that UP police had performed the late night cremation of the Hathras rape victim’s body to avoid the large scale violence. The UP govt has also sought CBI probe.
“File an affidavit on how the family and witnesses are being protected. If the family has a lawyer to assist them and what would be the scope of High Court proceedings,” CJI SA Bobde directed UP govt. SC has also asked the govt to take necessary measures to provide protection to the witnesses.
UP govt has also submitted that they had cremated the body at 2.30 AM because there was a high alert in the state a day later due to the Babri Masjid verdict.
The government said, “The district administration at Hathras had been receiving several intelligence inputs since the morning of September 29 on the manner in which the dharna had taken place at Safdarjung hospital and the whole issue was being exploited and a caste/communal colour was being given.”
The state stated its affidavit that it had received the information that lakhs of protestors belonging to both communities/castes are likely to assemble along with some political leaders at the very next day ‘which is likely to turn violent and will lead to major law and order problems’.
“In such extraordinary and severe circumstances, the district administration took the decision to convince the parents of the deceased to cremate her with all religious rites at night to avoid large scale violence in the morning to cremate the body of the victim that was lying for almost more than 20 hours after her death and post-mortem,” said UP government.
Uttar Pradesh has further added that when the postmortem is already don, there cannot be any other intention to speed up the cremation except to obviate the potential violent situation resulting from the planned caste divide by certain vested interests.
In another development in Hathras rape case, the Special Investigation Team has reached the victim’s village to visit the site of crime and cremation and also her home. The three member SIT constitutes of UP Home Secretary Bhagwan Swaroop, Deputy Inspector General of Police Chandraprakash and IPS officer Poonam. The team will submit its report by tomorrow.
On September 14, a 19-years old Dalit girl was brutally raped in the Hathras village of Uttar Pradesh. She was lying naked with a slit tongue and broken spine. The FIR was registered on September 19 and then the statement was recorded on September 22. She took her last breath on September 29 in Safdarjung hospital of Delhi.
The deceased family alleged that UP police had cremated the victim’s body without their consent in the midnight hours. They had begged the authorities to hand over the body to them to perform her last rites but were denied. They alleged that they were locked in their house.
The deceased had named four man. Advocate AP Singh who fought for the rape accused of 2012 Nirbhaya rape case will be defending the Hathras rape accused and then opposition counsel Seema Kushwaha is again fighting the battle for justice for the rape victim, Manisha Valimiki.
