Hathras Gang Rape: Yogi Adityanath Forms SIT, Fast Track Court

Hathras/Lucknow: A day after a 19-year-old Dalit rape victim died at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the crime.

Adityanath has asked the team to submit a report within seven days and said a fast-track court will begin hearing the case.

Adityanath took to Twitter informing about the same.

“The culprits of the Hathras incident against the girl will not be let go. An SIT has been formed to investigate the matter and it will submit a report within seven days. To ensure early justice, the case will be run on a fast track court,” Adityanath tweeted.

The step was taken reportedly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked to the chief minister and directed him to ensure strict action against those responsible for the incident. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to me about the Hathras incident. He said that strictest of action be taken against the culprits,” Yogi added.

The body of the victim was cremated a little after 3 am on Wednesday with her family saying police had forcibly performed the last rites late at night even though they wanted to bring her body home one last time.

“It appears that my sister has been cremated; the police are not telling us anything. We begged them to let us bring her body inside the house one last time, but they didn’t listen to us,” the woman’s brother was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

Here’s how events unfolded at the late-night cremation:

• At 1 am, one of the brothers of the victim, who was in the village, reportedly said, “The ambulance is on the main road; police are not letting us take the body inside the house. They have switched on the lights of the cremation ground and are forcing us to perform her last rites right now. We don’t want to cremate her in the middle of the night; we want to take her home.”
• At the time, he said his father and brother were yet to reach home from Delhi. “What is the rush? Our father hasn’t even reached home,” he had said.
• Two hours later, videos and photos from the village showed a lone pyre and no family members near it. At 3:30 am, her brother alleged, “Police started being aggressive when we refused to cremate her. When my relatives tried to see what the police were doing, they kicked us, broke one of our relative’s bangles. Out of fear, we have locked ourselves in. Why are they doing this?”
• Videos also showed the victim’s mother pleading with police officials to let the body be brought home one last time.
• According to an ANI report, the Joint Magistrate of Hathras, Prem Prakash Meena said, “The last rites of the victim have been performed. Police and administration will ensure that the perpetrators of the crime are brought to justice.”
• At 2.16 am, the Hathras Police had tweeted that the cremation will be done “as per the wishes of the family”.