A 20-year-old woman in UP, Hathras was gang-raped and tortured to indignity, finally succumbed to her injuries, and died on Tuesday in Safdarjung hospital, Delhi. She had endured several fractures, her spinal cord was found broken which resulted in paralysis and her tongue was cut off. The incident has shaken the nation to the backbone, condemning UP for the sharp rise in rape-related crimes in the recent past.
Another heart-wrenching story from the family has emerged as the UP police deliberately cremate the victim’s body without the family’s permission. Reports say that the family was locked in their home when the police were taking away the body. A disturbing visual from the dreadful night demonstrates the female relatives throwing themselves on the ambulance, the mother crying helplessly and beating her chest while the family insists to cremate the body the next morning.
The severity and insensitivity of the cops are morally questioned as they argue their way through the family, buries the body at the dead of the night without allowing a last glance at their daughter.
The victim was brought back to her village, Hathras, 200km from Delhi after midnight, for burial without the family’s knowledge. When the father of the victim suspected, they threw themselves on the way of the ambulance and pleaded to hand over her body so that they could perform the last rites with proper Hindu tradition the next morning.
The nightmare doesn’t end there. While people gathered in protest in solidarity with the victim outside Safdarjung Hospital, her father and brother were arrested by UP police and were taken away in black Scorpios.
District Magistrate Praveen Kumar Laxkar was also requested to allow the last rites to take place after daybreak. The police had apparently formed a chain to keep away protestors, journalists, and the villagers. The burial took place at 2:30 am when the family members were locked at home. During the burial, the cops were present at utmost. The family was not even allowed to pay their last respects to their daughter.
The audacity of the UP police further outrages the country when they claim that the cremation took place with the family consent and some members were also present. Reports say that only one of her uncles was present with the police. District Magistrate also denies the media reports.
