On September 28, the 19 year old Hathras brutal gang rape survivor succumbed to her injuries. In a gruesome series of events, The young Dalit woman was brutally raped and assaulted on September 14 by 4 Upper caste men in the village of Chandpa, Hathras with the perpetrators severely damaging her spinal cord and cutting her tongue out according to a report by the Indian Express.
The victim was first admitted to a district hospital 2 weeks ago with her tongue cut off and multiple serious injuries. She was later shifted to Aligarh Hospital for further treatment and finally moved to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.
Here is a timeline of the tragic events that led to the death of the survivor :
September 14 : Four men forcefully dragged and gang-raped a young 19-year-old girl in Hathras. The victim is found strangled by her dupatta and unconscious, with a severely damaged spinal cord and neck. The accused also cut her tongue off.
September 23 : The survivor briefly regained consciousness and gave her statement to the Police naming the criminals, on the basis of which three men – Sandeep, his uncle Ravi (35) and their friend Luv Kush were arrested.
September 26 : Hathras SP Vikrant Vir announces the fourth accused, Ramu, has been arrested and sent to jail.
“We have registered a case under (IPC) sections of gangrape, attempt to murder and SC/ST Act. The accused persons are being interrogated. We have compiled all the evidence from the spot and are in the process of filing a chargesheet. We want the family to get justice and will be submitting all documents in fast-track court for immediate action,” Vir said.
September 27 : The victim remains critical and has paralysis in all four limbs. “She sustained severe injuries on her neck and back and is not able to breathe properly. We are treating her and she is on a ventilator.”, one of the doctors is reported stating by the Indian express.
September 29 : After putting up a long and hard fight for her life, the victim succumbed to her injuries in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital.
September 30 : The victim’s family alleged the police forcefully performed the last rites of the victim at 3 am and didn’t allow them to bring the body back home. Reporters present at the scene posted videos of the police barricading the family and cremating the body.
No, they did it on their own. We're scared. Police forced us to take the body to cremation ground. We'd said we'll do it in morning: Brother of #Hathras gangrape victim when asked if family had given consent for funeral
(Disclaimer: Interview time – around 4 am, after funeral) pic.twitter.com/KKbQBwxhV7
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 30, 2020
The UP Police have however denied the claims and called the allegations baseless.
▶️कतिपय सोशल मीडिया के माध्यम से यह असत्य खबर फैलायी जा रही है कि “थाना चन्दपा क्षेत्रान्तर्गत दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण घटित घटना में मृतिका के शव का अन्तिम संस्कार बिना परिजनों की अनुमति के पुलिस ने जबरन रात में करा दिया हैं “।
⏹️ हाथरस पुलिस इस असत्य एवं भ्रामक खबर का खंडन करती है। pic.twitter.com/EMHLRQzR2o— HATHRAS POLICE (@hathraspolice) September 30, 2020
This terrible incident has received strong reactions in the country with politicians, ministers and countrymen strongly condemning the incident.
#Hathras gang-rape horror | Listen in: Viewers call-in to join the TIMES NOW campaign demanding justice for the victim. pic.twitter.com/3skypvg5Cx
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) September 30, 2020
The family alleged that the main accused, Sandeep and his family, have a history of harassing the Dalit community in their area with the accused’s grandfather having served jail time under the SC/ST Act for three months for reportedly thrashing the victim’s grandfather over a petty issue.
“They are upper castes and have always called us names. We ignore them. Sandeep is an alcoholic who harasses women, but nobody ever files a complaint,” the victim’s brother stated.
The Hathras District Magistrate, Praveen Kumar said the family would be provided Rs 10 lakh as aid.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) assured all possible assistance to the victim’s family and stated “An NCW member is going to meet the brother of the victim and we will help the family in whatever way we can.”
The UP government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the incident and the hearing of this matter will take place in a fast track court, tweeted UP CM Yogi Adityanath.
हाथरस में बालिका के साथ घटित दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण घटना के दोषी कतई नहीं बचेंगे।
प्रकरण की जांच हेतु विशेष जांच दल का गठन किया गया है। यह दल आगामी सात दिवस में अपनी रिपोर्ट देगा।
त्वरित न्याय सुनिश्चित करने हेतु इस प्रकरण का मुकदमा फास्ट ट्रैक कोर्ट में चलेगा।
— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) September 30, 2020
