Hathras case: Dalit woman was gang-raped, killed says CBI

Hathras (Uttar Pradesh): The four accused in the alleged gang-rape and torture of a young Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras in September were charged today by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of gang-rape and murder, over three months after the incident that had triggered a massive outrage across the nation.

The CBI has also raised charges against the accused under the Schedule Caste/Schedule Tribe (SC/ST) (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The probe agency had filed a charge sheet under Sections 354, 376 A, 376 D and 302 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) before the court in Hathras, some 200 km from Delhi.

The 20-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four men from the so-called upper caste community- Sandeep, Luvkush, Ravi and Ramu, in Hathras on September 14. She had later succumbed to her injuries at a hospital in Delhi. The victim was cremated near her house on September 30.

The case was handled by the Uttar Pradesh Police, particularly the late-night cremation of the victim without the approval of the family had led to angry protests across the country.

However, the officials had said that the cremation rites were performed 'as per the wishes of the family'.

In the month of October, the Supreme court had said that the Allahabad High Court will monitor the probe which was conducted by the CBI. The incident and the actions of the police in an alleged attempt to hush the case had sparked protests and outrage across the country.

The main accused had written to the Uttar Pradesh police from jail, claiming that he and three other accused were being framed and were innocent. He had sought for 'justice'. However, the victim's family had denied all allegations.

Investigators had also met doctors at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, where the victim was treated after the alleged gangrape.

Earlier this week, the CBI had sought for more time to conclude its investigation following which the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday had fixed January 27, 2021, as the next date of hearing in the case.

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