The family left Hathras for the state capital, Lucknow, approximately 380 km away, early this morning. (File)
Amid heightened security, the family of the 20-year-old woman – who was allegedly gang-raped and tortured in the Hathras of Uttar Pradesh – will appear today before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court. The woman died in a Delhi hospital last month, two weeks after the alleged assault and torture sparked widespread outrage.
The family left Hathras for the state capital, Lucknow, approximately 380 km away, early this morning. “I am going with them. Appropriate security measures have been taken. The district magistrate and the police commissioner are also accompanying us,” said Anjali Ganwar, deputy magistrate of the division, quoted by the ANI news agency.
The UP police on Sunday ensured the security arrangements around the victim’s home. “The safety of the victim’s family is sufficient. The local police are in contact with the family and neighboring villages. The authorities have held a peace meeting in neighboring villages and asked them not to pay attention to the rumors.” , said Vineet, a senior police official. Jaiswal told ANI.
The 20-year-old woman from Hathras was reportedly gang-raped and assaulted by four “upper caste” men from her village. The state government has come under heavy criticism over the handling of the case which many have compared to the 2012 gang rape in Delhi, which called for tougher laws. Much of that criticism revolved around the treatment of the traumatized family of the young woman who was reportedly locked in her home while the victim was hastily cremated.
“Shocked” by the alleged gang rape and murder of the 20-year-old woman and her subsequent forced cremation by police, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court summoned senior government officials on October 1 to the tribunal.
A division bench consisting of Judge Rajan Roy and Judge Jaspreet Singh had ordered Uttar Pradesh’s Additional Chief Secretary, State Police Chief and an additional Police Director General to appear before him to explain the incident. The bench also ordered the Hathras District Magistrate and the Police Superintendent to appear to brief the court, including the ongoing investigation.
“The incidents which took place after the death of the victim on September 29, 2020, leading to his cremation, as alleged, shocked our conscience. Therefore, we are becoming aware of the same thing,” the court said in his order.
(With ANI entries)
