Hathras (Uttar Pradesh): A court in Uttar's Pradesh Hathras on Thursday convicted the main accused and acquitted three others in the 2020 Hathras case in which a 19-year-old Dalit woman was raped and murdered. Sandeep Singh was convicted under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 304 of the SC/ST Act.
The three acquitted have been identified as Ravi, Ramu and Luv Kush. Mahipal Singh, the victim's advocate said that the girl's family is not satisfied with the verdict and said that they will appeal to the High Court for justice. The main accused Sandeep has been punished. "We are not satisfied with this decision of the lower court," Singh said.
On September 14, 2020, a 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four upper-caste men in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras. However, on September 29, she died in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital while undergoing treatment. The victim was cremated in the night near her home. On October 2, 2020, the government suspended five policemen, including the then SP and CO, and decided to conduct a CBI inquiry into the rape two days later.
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The CBI launched a probe into the case on October 11. On December 18, 2020, the special court filed a charge sheet against the accused Sandeep, Luv Kush, Ravi and Ram under the SC/ST Act. Her family had alleged that the local police forced them to conduct the last rites hurriedly. However, the local police said that the cremation was conducted as per the wishes of the family. The victim's family said that they were upset at the acquittal and would soon move to the High Court to challenge the lower court's decision.
