Upper Caste Men Meet Outside Ex-BJP MLA House & Demand FIR Against Hathras Victim's Family
Why are we normalising rape by supporting the rape accused?
Scores of men, apparently from upper caste, held a caste-based meeting outside the house of a former BJP MLA Rajveer Pehalvan in Hathras where they defended the accused in the gangrape and death of a Dalit woman in Hathras. They also demanded registration of an FIR against the victim's family.
The meeting was held a day after UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered a CBI probe into the incident. Heavy police force was deployed in the vicinity of the former BJP MLA¡¯s house located around 8-9 kilometres from the victim¡¯s village, according to a report by news agency PTI.
One of the organisers of the meeting and Pehalvan¡¯s son Manveer Singh, however, denied that the gathering comprised members from the so-called upper castes and said they were from different sections of society.
File Photo
We welcome the CBI inquiry ordered by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. We have faith in the investigation, Singh told PTI.
The Hathras case is a reminder of the Kathua gang-rape and murder incident in Jammu and Kashmir, where hundreds of people supported the accused.
The victim in the Hathras case died on Tuesday morning at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital after battling multiple injuries suffered during the alleged sexual assault on September 14.
PTI
The initial protest was held on Friday some 500 metres from the victim's village where the members from the Thakur community demanded "justice" for the four accused.
