Hathras gangrape case: PM Modi speaks to UP CM, SIT to probe incident

14:09 September 30

Hathras gang-rape: NCP hits out at UP government

The NCP on Wednesday criticised the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government over the Hathras gang-rape victim's family being allegedly denied the right to perform her last rites.

Amid allegations by the 19-year-old victim's family that the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night, Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil termed it as "inhuman and unfortunate".

The body of the Dalit woman, who died in a Delhi hospital on Tuesday, a fortnight after she was gang-raped, was cremated in Hathras in the early hours of Wednesday.

Local police officers told PTI that the cremation was carried out "as per the wishes of the family".

Patil in a tweet in Hindi said, "Final rites of India's daughter were performed during early hours in the absence of her family members. This behaviour of the Uttar Pradesh government is inhuman and unfortunate."

"Daughters are not being respected when they are alive

nor while they are dead," he added.

13:25 September 30

Cong seeks Yogi's resignation in Hathras case

Keeping up the pressure on the Uttar Pradesh government in the Hathras gang rape case, the Congress on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Congress leaders Sushmita Dev and Udit Raj attacked the government and said the state government tried to cover up the case and even denied the family the right to hold last rites for the victim.

Sushmita Dev said, "The government has constituted SIT, but who will inquire the CM. First, the state government said there is no rape, and only brought the victim to Delhi when her condition deteriorated."

12:59 September 30

Better if SC takes suo moto cognizance of Hathras incident: BSP

It would be better if the Supreme Court takes suo moto cognizance of the Hathras incident and takes appropriate action, said Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Wednesday.

She also said that not handing over the body of the gang-rape victim to the family and performing the last rites without them creates doubt and resentment in the people.

"Not handing over the body of Hathras gang-rape Dalit victim and performing the last rites at midnight in absence of her family by UP police creates a lot of doubt and resentment in people. The BSP strongly condemns such a wrong attitude of the police," Mayawati tweeted.

"It would be better if the Hon'ble Supreme Court takes appropriate action by taking cognizance of this serious case on its own, otherwise the attitude of the UP Government and the police in this heinous case does not seem that family will get justice and culprits will be punished severely even after the death of the gang-rape victim," she said in another tweet.

12:53 September 30

Hathras victim earlier raped by some beasts, yesterday entire system raped her: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said the Hathras gang-rape victim was "earlier raped by some beasts" and then "the entire system raped her", after the woman's family alleged the police forced them to conduct her last rites in the dead of the night.

The body of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday, a fortnight after she was gang-raped, was cremated in Hathras in the early hours of Wednesday.

"The Hathras victim was earlier raped by some beasts and yesterday the entire system raped her. The entire matter is highly painful," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

12:23 September 30

Swati Maliwal demands strict punishment for rapists

DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal writes to Chief Justice of India other SC judges appealing them to take cognizance of Hathras gangrape case and ensure immediate action on erring officials, strict punishment to rapists and set definite mechanisms in place to ensure no more rapes.

11:21 September 30

Prime Minister, UP Chief Minister should break their silence on Hathras incident: BSP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, should break their silence over the brutal gangrape incident in Hathras, said Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) spokesperson Sudhindra Bhadoria on Wednesday. 

The last rites of the Hathras gang-rape victim were performed at her native place in UP in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Speaking to the reporter, Bhadoria said, "I must say that the government has not come forward yet. Prime Minister Modi ji and Yogi Ji who is Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, have not even given a statement. Both talk about giving protection to women, to the girl child, they talk about the program of 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao'. Is this an example of the kind of program running in Uttar Pradesh where these young girls are being brutalised and killed?"

"I must say that the government has failed to provide security to the girls and to the women in Uttar Pradesh, more particularly the Dalits," Bhadoria added.

11:12 September 30

Prime Minister speaks to UP CM

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to him about the Hathras rape and urged strict action against the accused.

11:11 September 30

CM Yogi sets up SIT to probe Hathras incident

The Yogi Adityanath government on Wednesday set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Hathras incident in which a 19-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped and later succumbed to the injuries.

The SIT, according to official sources, will comprise home secretary Bhagwan Swaroop, DIG Chandra Prakash and IPS officer Poonam. The SIT will submit its report at the earliest. The Chief Minister, sources said, has decided to send the case to a fast track court in order to ensure justice to the victim.

All four accused have already been arrested.

The state government has been facing massive criticism over the incident in which the Dalit girl was allegedly raped and strangulated on September 14 when she had gone to collect fodder from the field.

11:08 September 30

Hathras gang-rape case LIVE UPDATES

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday slammed the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the Hathras gang-rape victim's family being allegedly denied the right to perform her last rites, with party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra demanding Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's resignation.

The body of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died in a Delhi hospital a fortnight after she was gang-raped, was cremated in Hathras in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.

Local police officers, however, told that the cremation was carried out "as per the wishes of the family".

The Congress has been holding protests in the national capital and various parts of Uttar Pradesh demanding justice for the gang-rape victim.

Party leader Rahul Gandhi, in a tweet, said, "A daughter of India is raped-murdered, facts are suppressed and in the end, the right to perform the last rites is also taken away from the victim's family."

"It is insulting and unjust," he said in the tweet in Hindi using the hashtag 'Hathras Horror Shocks India'.

Along with the tweet, Rahul Gandhi also tagged a video purportedly of the cremation site showing a police officer not answering to queries as to whether the body of the victim was being cremated there.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi said, "I was on the phone with the Hathras victim's father when he was informed that his daughter had passed away. I heard him cry out in despair."

"He had just been telling me that all he wanted was justice for his child. Last night the victim's father was robbed of the chance to take his daughter home for the last time and perform her last rites," she said in a series of tweets.

Tagging Adityanath, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said, "RESIGN. Instead of protecting the victim and her family, your government became complicit in depriving her of every single human right, even in death. You have no moral right to continue as chief minister."

In another tweet in Hindi, she alleged that at 2:30 am Wednesday the "victim's kin kept requesting", but the UP administration "forcibly" cremated the deceased.

"The government did not protect her when she was alive. The government did not provide her timely treatment when she was attacked. After her death, the government took away the right of the family to perform the last rites of their daughter and did not respect the deceased," Priyanka Gandhi said.

Hitting out at the chief minister, she alleged, "Gross inhumanity. You did not stop the crime but behaved like criminals. You did not stop the atrocities, but committed atrocity on an innocent child and her family twice."

Tagging Adityanath and asking him to resign, Priyanka Gandhi said, "There is no justice in your rule, only injustice."

The Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also hit out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh and asked why was the victim's family was denied the right to perform her last rites and why was the body cremated at 2:30 am.

He alleged that all limits of atrocities and brutality had been crossed and demanded Yogi Adityanath's resignation.

On September 14, the young woman had gone to the fields with her mother and went missing soon after. She was found later, beaten and tortured, her tongue cut as she bit it when the accused attempted to strangle her.

She was first admitted to Aligarh Muslim University's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital and then shifted to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi on Monday.

(PTI)