HC asks CBI to submit progress report in 2020 Hathras case trial

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday directed the CBI to file the progress report in the trial of the Hathras gangrape and murder case.

Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday directed the CBI to file the progress report in the trial of the Hathras gangrape and murder case. A Lucknow bench of justices Rajan Roy and Jaspreet Singh gave the direction to CBI counsel Anurag Kumar Singh. Meanwhile, the state government submitted that it was in the final stage of preparing the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for dignified cremation of deceased in the incidents like Hathras gang rape and murder.

"The SOP would soon be notified too," stated state counsel Pranjal Krishna. The court has fixed September 20 as the next date of hearing in the case. A 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four upper-caste men in Hathras on September 14, 2020. She died on September 29 at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital during treatment.

The victim was cremated in the night near her home. Her family had alleged that they were forced by the local police to hurriedly conduct her last rites. Local police officers, however, said the cremation was carried out "as per the wishes of the family." (PTI)