19-year-old Hathras rape victim cremated in dark of night, family alleges
The 19-year-old Dalit woman who was gangraped in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras and was receiving treatment at Delhi hospital was cremated in the middle of the night, the family of the victim has alleged. The woman was raped in a village in Hathras by four men on September 14. She was referred to Delhi's Safdarjung hospital where she breathed her last on Tuesday.
“The police have forcibly taken the dead body and my father along with them for cremation. When my father reached Hathras, he was immediately taken (to the crematorium) by the police,” a brother of the woman said on Wednesday.
Another relative said that the woman's father was accompanied by 30 to 40 people, chiefly relatives, and others from their neighbourhood had gone to the crematorium near Bool Garhi village, under Chandpa police station limits, in the district in western UP.
The police, meanwhile, have said the cremation was being carried out “as per the wishes of the family”.
Senior police and administration officials were also present at the crematorium in the middle of the night, an official said.
Following the death of the rape victim, the family had left the Safdarjung hospital in Delhi on Tuesday night amid heavy police deployment. The body was taken by the Uttar Pradesh police, which reached Hathras earlier than the family members, claimed a kin of the victim.
Meanwhile, as the news of her death spread, protests broke out in Delhi as well as in Hathras with all sections of society, including politicians, sports and cine stars and activists, expressing their anguish and demanding justice for her.
Commenting on the incident, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and said, "the family of a rape victim was denied the right to perform last rites of their daughter after she was raped and killed."
Union Minister Ramdas Athawale has also demanded the probe of the case in a fast track court. He has also demanded capital punishment for the accused.
Also Read: Hathras gangrape: Activists demand death penalty for accused
