INDIA NEWS
Oct 16-31, 2020 - Vol 1, Issue 8
HATHRAS STORY
Hathras gang rape: Truth sinks to the bottom in a mire of contradictions The Hathras gang rape which transpired on 14th September with the 19-year old victim succumbing 15 days later has without any doubt the echoes of the abominable 2012 Nirbhaya rape case but what makes it even more deplorable is the deluge of contradictions causing the facts to get lost in translation.
The nitty-gritty of the horrific incident On 14th September, 2020, the 19 –year-old victim who hailed from Boolgarhi village in Hathras had gone to collect fodder for animals with her mother when she was allegedly attacked and brutally raped by four upper caste men who tried to strangulate her and also cut her tongue. She died fifteen days later at Safdarjung hospital in Delhi, having sustained serious neck and spinal cord injuries. Late that night, she was cremated and it was following what seemed like a stealthy move on the part of the police to cover up the crime that public outcry over the whole incident began to erupt and parties across the wide political spectrum also became involved. Rape and caste-based violence not part of the initial narrative When the initial reports began to make the rounds, it was believed that there was only one perpetrator, Sandeep, of the heinous crime who had accosted the girl because of a protracted history of feud between his family and that of the victim. What is surprising is that there was no allegation of rape and that it was being construed that the primary aim of the attacker was to kill the girl because of the long-standing animosity between the families and he might have succeeded too if the girl had not created a commotion causing him to flee the spot. Also, there was no emphasis on the upper caste of the men involved who later on turned out to be Thakurs and that of the deceased girl who was a Dalit. It is believed that it was only after 23rd September that the focus shifted from family feud to a caste-based angle when a certain newspaper highlighted the caste of the victim and the accused which was further fuelled by the Congress party. The victim went to the Chandpa police station along with her mother and brother where a case was registered but there was neither any mention of rape nor of the attackers being more than one. Also, it is being claimed that the police delayed the filing of
the complaint and it is only when the brother of the victim insisted that a case was filed against the accused Sandeep under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty). There is a video of the victim allegedly taken just after the incident in which she can be heard saying that she was strangulated when she defied the attacker’s attempt to rape her but no formal charge was levelled against the attacker/ attackers. There are also claims that the victim’s mother had found her in a state of undress but had hidden the fact then fearing stigma. The victim was taken to the primary health centre by the police but the doctors there insisted that her condition was serious and the health centre did not have the requisite facilities to administer her proper treatment, so she was taken to Aligarh Muslim University’s JN Medical College and Hospital. This decision was taken at around noon on the day of the incident. However, despite the hospital being a 2 hour-drive away from the primary health centre, it was only after 4 pm that she was officially admitted there. Victim explicitly mentions rape and names more perpetrators Although the victim did regain consciousness, it was more than evident that her condition had deteriorated over the week following the atrocious act. Her statement was recorded and besides Sandeep she named two more persons who had assaulted her sexually. The police then initiated investigation under the charges of attempt to murder and molestation; Sandeep, the perpetrator originally named was also apprehended by the police. A few days later, the victim gave her last statement before a magistrate and named four persons in total- Sandeep, Luvkush, Ravi and Ramu- and accused them of raping her. It is only at this point that the police filed a case of gang rape and attempt to murder against all the four. They were also successful in arresting the other assailants apart from Sandeep. However, the Hathras
Superintendent of Police said that no evidence of sexual assault had been found by the medical experts. They also denied the claims of her eyes being gouged out and her spinal cord being severed completely. Even though the doctors at JN Medical College and Hospital conceded that there were blatant signs of force being used, they provided no clarity of rape having occurred and reserved their opinion till the forensic report was made available. Victim’s demise, late night cremation and the aftermath As the victim’s condition took a turn for the worse, she was shifted to Safdarjung hospital in Delhi on September 28, though the Aligarh Muslim University confirmed that they had referred her to AIIMS. Her condition deteriorated and she succumbed to her injuries in the morning next day. Following her death, an additional charge of murder was also levelled against the four accused. Late that night, after the post-mortem, her last rites were performed by her brother and father as per some media reports whereas there are others who reported that no consent was sought from the victim’s family regarding the decision to cremate and that the police compelled them to hasten the cremation. The family claimed that they wanted to take her body home but were deterred by the police. The following day, a prominent media house presented a report from the perspective of the accused which completely countered the hitherto believed narrative. The family members of the accused claimed that they had been falsely implicated and that in fact one of the accused was at his work place at the time when the crime occurred which can be substantiated with verifiable evidence. Contradictory claims galore On September 30, UP CM Yogi Adityanath ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe to look into the matter. In the meantime, videos allegedly showing the victim’s mother accusing only Sandeep and that
CBI team reaches Hathras too only for physically assaulting her daughter began to surface on social media but at the same time rumours about the family being pressurized by the police were equally rampant. It is also believed that the father of the victim began to demand a CBI inquiry but there are also counter claims stating that both the father and the brother of the victim were being “instructed” by someone. On 1st October, the police reiterated their claim of no rape having occurred and stated that according to the Forensic Science Laboratory report no semen had been found on the victim’s body which corroborated the findings of the post mortem report. The police also asserted that the incident was needlessly being politicized and that the caste angle was unjustly being highlighted just to stir up trouble and incite caste-based violence. Top Congress leaders enter the fray Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka Gandhi, other top Congress leaders decided to pay a visit to the victim’s family on October 1 but ahead of their visit, Section 144, which prohibits the assembly of four or more, was imposed in Hathras. However, they were detained and sent back to Delhi but they managed to meet the family of the victim two days later. Rahul also claimed that he was lathi-charged by the police on October 1 but nothing could stop him from meeting the aggrieved family. While Rahul and Priyanka bashed the Adityanath government and the police for mishandling the case thus denying justice to the victim and her family, various representatives of the UP government countered these allegations by saying that the opposition leaders were
fanning the fires of caste-based sentimentalities in a bid to malign the government. SIT probe completed, top police officials suspended The SIT probe concluded on 3rd October and the media which was denied access to the family prior to this was no longer detained. Also, the police refuted the claims of the family’s mobile phones being confiscated. A day prior to the conclusion of the investigation, Adityanath ordered the suspension of some top police officials connected to the investigation of the case and also asked for Narco polygraph tests for the accused, the victim’s family members and even the police officials associated with the case. However, it was reported later on that the family members of the victim allegedly showed reluctance to undergo the test citing ignorance of what the test entails as the reason for their refusal. Supporters for the upper caste accused In the meantime, the Savarna Samaj and the Bajrang Dal began to come out in support of the upper caste Thakur men in Boolgarhi village claiming that they were innocent and that the family members of the victim had themselves killed her to claim the amount of rupees 10 lakh under the Scheduled Castes/Schedules Tribes Act. CBI takes over investigation On October 10, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the investigation of the case as per the order of the UP CM and on the following day, they registered a case and commenced their probe. As of October 13, the CBI completed its investigation of the crime scene but is yet to reveal its findings.
Given 3-tier security to Hathras family, UP govt tells SC New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS): Seeking a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe in the Dalit woman’s gang rape and murder in Hathras, the Uttar Pradesh government has informed the apex court that the victim’s family has been given three-layered security. The government also pointed out that the family has also engaged private lawyer to fight their case.
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In an affidavit filed in compliance with apex court directions on October 6, the state’s affidavit provided details of the security arrangements made for the family. The state government said that it had deployed sufficient policemen to ensure protection to the family members residing in Boolgarhi village, and Closed-Circuit
Television installed to keep round-the-clock surveillance around their house. The apex court is scheduled to hear the matter on October 15. “An Inspector General of Police has been made incharge of the security arrangement... he shall supervise the police force and oversee security arrangements on a daily basis,” said the affidavit.
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The state also said that the security deployed in the village had been issued strict instructions regarding their duties and that there was no intrusion in the family’s privacy. The family members are free to move around and meet the people they want, the affidavit affirmed.
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