Hathras gang-rape: Dalit girl dies, outrage in Delhi, Lucknow

New Delhi/Lucknow, Sep 29 (UNI) A 19-year-old Dalit girl belonging to Hathras village of Uttar Pradesh, who was gang-raped and assaulted allegedly by four upper caste men, died here on Tuesday morning.

The victim was shifted to Safdarjung hospital in south Delhi from Aligarh’s J N Medical College Hospital (JNMCH) on the request of her father for better care.

As per sources, the girl had suffered severe injuries on her neck and back along with paralysis. She breathed her last in small hours of Tuesday.

On September 14, the girl along with her mother had gone to a farm in her Hathras village to collect animal fodder. However, four men allegedly raped her, assaulted her brutally, strangulated and dragged her with ‘dupatta’.

She was found later in the field with severe injuries, Hathras Superintendent of Police Vikrant Vir had told media persons.

The SP said all the four accused, identified as Sandip, Ramu, Lavkush and Ravi, have been arrested and booked under Section 307 (intention to kill) and 356 (assault) of the IPC, and relevant sections of the SC/ST Act.

Mr Vir has also transferred the Station House Officer of the Chandpa police station to Police Lines for failing to promptly act in the case.

As the news of the death spread, protests broke out both in Delhi and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh with the Opposition including Congress blaming Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government for rise in caste atrocities.

The parents of the victim along with several others, sat on a protest inside Safdarjung campus. As the day passed, anger brewed. In the afternoon, the family members of the victim were joined by Bhim Army’s Chandrashekhar Azad along with the Congress leaders and staged a protest. The security was strengthened in and outside the hospital.

Mr Azad demanded death penalty for the culprits for the barbaric act. He alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government is equally responsible for the death of the rape victim. The Dalit leader also claimed that there was a delay in transferring the victim to Delhi as medical facilities were not adequate at the Aligarh hospital.

The Congress workers held a protest at Vijay Chawk.

As per latest reports, Delhi Police has driven away the family from the hospital premises.

In Lucknow, the leaders of Congress Party as well as AAP, Samajwadi Party and even some other social activists staged demonstrations. The cops used force against the demonstrators and arrested over five dozen Congress workers including the city president Mukesh Singh Chauhan.

Taking on Yogi government, Congress eastern UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote on her official twitter handle, “A Dalit girl of Hathras died in Safdarjung Hospital. For two weeks she struggled for life. Incidents of rape in Hathras, Shahjahanpur and Gorakhpur have shaken the state.”

Former UP chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said, “Government should provide all possible help to the victim’s family and ensure justice by prosecuting the culprits in a fast track court.”

In a tweet, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said there was no hope left from “this insensitive government”.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed the death of Hathras gangrape victim a matter of shame for the country as well as for the governments and demanded the capital punishment to the guilty.

Meanwhile, District Magistrate Praveen Kumar Lakshkar told media person that the case would be heard in a fast track court and the victim’s family would be provided Rs 10 lakh as compensation.

The victim is survived by parents and four siblings. Her father and elder brother are daily wage labourers.

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