How The Country Managed To Turn Hathras Gangrape & Murder Case Into A Circus

The Hathras gangrape and murder case has once again turned the attention of the country towards the socially relevant issues.

The case not only shook the collective conscience of the country but also exposed the inefficiency of the state government, the police and the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh.

Now that the case has been handed over to the CBI and the outcry continues, the case was initially brushed aside as fake news and the case was never on the right trajectory where justice could be delivered.

While the outcry continues, the Uttar Pradesh police have been accused of sabotaging the case. Allegations have been raised by the family of the victim that police had initially tried to brush aside the case as fake news.

Rape charges filed late

The woman, a day after she was assaulted, gave a police statement and initially the case was investigated as an attempt to murder over old enmity.

Rape charges added only in FIR on September 22, eight days after crime.

On September 22, after the girl's statement, rape charges were added to the FIR and three more people were booked, while one accused, Sandeep was arrested.

The woman told the police in a statement on September 22 that the four men raped her on September 14 when she had gone to collect firewood.

Claims of no proof of rape and tongue slashed

The Uttar Pradesh Police also said that the deceased was not a victim of sexual assault.

AFP

The police, however, claims that the woman was attacked and allegedly strangled by four accused which caused damage to her nervous system and left her paralysed.

Speaking to media, Hathras SP Vikrant Vir said that no signs of sexual assault were found on the victim's body by doctors and reports of her tongue being cut were also false.

"No signs of sexual assault was confirmed by doctors in either Hathras or Aligarh. The matter will be probed by doctors through forensic help. No signs of abrasion were found on the victim's private parts," the Hathras SP said.

Later, the forensic report also concluded that there was no sign of rape, However, it is noteworthy that the forensic exam must be conducted within 96 hours of the crime and and forensic evidence must be collected within 72 hours. In this case, the forensic exam was done 11 days after the alleged sexual assault had taken place.

Burning of victim's body at night

The case took another tragic turn when the victim's body was burnt by policemen allegedly as her family and relatives were locked up in their homes.

A disturbing sequence of events was captured in visuals wherein the victim¡¯s family was seen arguing with the cops, female relatives throwing themselves on the hood of the ambulance carrying the body and the mother crying her eyes out as she begged to take a last look at her daughter.

The woman's family said that they wanted to perform the funeral as per Hindu traditions and despite their protest, the cremation was done by policemen.

"We couldn't see our daughter's face for the last time," the family said.

Irresponsible statements by ministers

Many ministers have made extremely insensitive statements ever since the matter came to light.

Ranjeet Bahadur Srivastava, a BJP leader from Barabanki, has claimed that the four upper caste men accused of brutally assaulting the 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras are 'innocent' and it is the victim who was 'awaara' (wayward).

File Photo

The controversial Bharatiya Janata Party leader, who has over 44 criminal cases against him, made this shocking statement in an interview to a news channel.

He claimed that the teen was 'having an affair with the accused' and had called him to the millet field on September 14 (the day of the crime).

In the interview, Srivastava can be heard saying, "The victim must have called the boy to the field because they were having an affair. This news is already out on social media and news channels. She must have got caught after that."

However, the BJP leader did not stop there. He claimed that "such women are found dead in a few specific spots".

"Such girls are found dead in only some places. They will be found dead in sugarcane, corn and millet fields or in bushes, gutters or forests. Why are they never found dead in paddy or wheat fields?" he asked.

He implied that crops like sugarcane, corn and millet are taller in height and can conceal a person while wheat and paddy grow up to only three or four feet in height.

Support for upper caste accused

The case also drew massive criticism when members of the upper caste community demanded justice for the four upper caste accused.

The Rashtriya Savarna Parishad, an upper-caste Hindu group, in a flagrant attempt to protect the rapists, came out in protest, according to a newspaper clipping.

The four rapists were apparently a part of the Rashtriya Savarna Parishad. The group attempted to protect the caste interests based on which the crime was committed.

A meeting was also held outside the house of a former BJP MLA by upper caste groups supporting the accused in the case.