A 20-year-old woman, who died in Delhi on Tuesday two weeks after being gang raped and tortured in the Hathras of Uttar Pradesh, was cremated by police officers last night, allegedly while her family was locked in their home. A disturbing sequence of events captured in late-night footage shows the family arguing with cops, parents pouncing on the hood of the ambulance carrying the body and the woman’s mother crying helplessly after the cremation.
The woman died at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. She had suffered multiple fractures, paralysis and a deep gash on her tongue during the assault which drew parallels with Nirbhaya’s gang rape in 2012. The death led to huge protests outside the hospital. hospital, protesters chanting “Hang the rapists”. The woman’s brothers complained that her body was taken away by the police without their knowledge.
As her father and brothers sat down in protest, they were taken away by cops in a black Scorpion with UP plates.
His body was transported to his village of Hathras, about 200 km from Delhi, after midnight. As his family and the villagers suspected that the UP police wanted to perform the last rites at this time in the middle of the night, they insisted that this was “against their traditions”; the woman’s father pleaded with the police to hand over the body for cremation in the morning.
The police vehicle has been stopped several times
The police vehicle was stopped in several places before cops repelled protesters and took the body to the cemetery, residents said.
A human chain has been formed by Hathras police, apparently to keep journalists away, residents said. Only cops were present at the site, it was alleged. Even the woman’s family couldn’t see her one last time.
There have also been calls for District Magistrate Praveen Kumar Laxkar to take her body to her home for the last rites after daybreak.
Finally, at 2:30 a.m., while most of the members remained at home, the vehicle paced back and forth to the burial ground where the woman’s body was cremated.
The four attackers, men from the upper castes of the woman’s village, are in prison. They will now also be charged with murder.
UP police are under scrutiny over alleged misconduct during the case. They initially recorded an attempted murder case but only added rape charges after the woman’s official statement. Yesterday a senior officer said the rape had not been confirmed and they were awaiting a forensic report.
UP police deny family slowness allegation
