The alleged gang rape and murder case of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in the Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh is confounded in a multiplicity of claims and counter-claims. The Hathras case is not a single case or one-dimensional investigation now.
The Hathras case is being probed by multiple agencies now in more than one state. A separate court hearing is also underway after the Allahabad High Court took a suo motu cognizance of the matter.
CBI PROBE
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the Hathras case on Sunday and registered an FIR in this case. The CBI’s FIR has charged the main accused in the case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections dealing with gang rape, attempt to murder and murder.
Since the victim belonged to the Dalit community, the accused has been also booked under the SC/ST Act of 1989. It deals with the offences of atrocities on a member of the Dalit community.
The CBI registered the FIR after the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) of the central government issued a notification authorising the agency to investigate the Hathras case. The state government had previously recommended investigation by the CBI.
Curiously, the CBI posted two versions of the FIR on its website. News reports say the Anti-corruption Branch (ACB) of the Ghaziabad unit of the CBI mentioned “rape, attempt to murder, gang rape and murder (other)” as “suspected offences” in the first version of the FIR. This version was later pulled down from the CBI’s website. The link now leads to a bank fraud case.
The second version came out in the afternoon on Sunday. This version refers to the original case registered at the Chandpa police station in Hathras saying the complainant – victim’s brother — alleged that “the accused tried to strangulate his sister in the millet field.”
THE ORIGINAL CASE
The Uttar Pradesh police had registered the case in a Hathras police station, where the charges mentioned in the FIR – 136/2020 – were attempt to murder a Dalit woman. The FIR did not refer to sexual assault.
The victim was admitted to a hospital in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh and shifted to a Delhi hospital after her condition deteriorated. She died on September 29. The report of her death and the family’s allegation of the victim having been sexually assaulted by men from the same village evoked an outrage on social media. Activists, celebrities and political leaders called for a thorough probe into the incident.
Later, the forensic reports found no sign of sexual assault. It, however, confirmed physical assault that caused grievous injuries to the woman. A hurried cremation of the body of the deceased by the police on the night of September 29-30 – with the family denying giving consent — further fuelled public anguish over the incident.
ANOTHER PROBE BY UP POLICE
The case of alleged assault on the Dalit woman is now being probed by the CBI. The Uttar Pradesh police are probing a case they registered for what they said is “a conspiracy” to present the Uttar Pradesh government in bad light.
The police arrested four persons in this connection from Mathura. Now, several teams have been dispatched to various places including Malappuram district in Kerala. Among the four persons arrested for their alleged involvement in the conspiracy is a journalist – Siddiqui Kappan – working for a Kerala-based news portal.
The other three persons — Atikur Rahman of Muzaffarnagar, Masood Ahmad from Bahraich and Aalam from Rampur — are from Uttar Pradesh. They were arrested on October 5 from Yamuna Expressway on their way to Hathras.
The four persons have been booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) – commonly called the anti-terror law – and also for sedition. The police said the accused were plotting to disturb social harmony and cause caste riots in Uttar Pradesh.
A DIFFERENT PROBE IN MADHYA PRADESH
In connection with Hathras case, a probe has begun in a Madhya Pradesh government medical college and hospital. Located in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur, the Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College (SCBMC) has initiated an enquiry against Dr Rajkumari Bansal over her “conduct” in connection with the Hathras case.
Dr Bansal is a forensic specialist from the institute. She took a three-day leave from the institute earlier this month, went to Hathras to meet the victim’s family and allegedly participated in a protest over the incident.
The government college has served her a show-cause notice. She has denied participating in a protest. The notice was served after a video clip showed her with Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Ravan.
Some reports said she “posed as a relative” of the victim’s family in her media interaction in Hathras. A section of social media alleged that she had links with naxal groups. She has denied all such charges as “scandalous and baseless” allegations.
A CASE IN COURT
The Allahabad High Court has taken a suo motu cognizance of the Hathras incident based on media reports and sought responses from the administration. On October 1, a two-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court asked the family of the victim to apprise it of their version of the incident in Lucknow.
The high court took up the case following reports of the police cremating the body of the victim without the consent of the family and subsequent outrage over alleged denial of dignity in death.
The judges were likely to hear the family’s version in-person. The family was earlier in the day taken to Lucknow by the administration, as directed by the high court.