Hathras (Uttar Pradesh): The mortal remains of a 19-year-old Dalit woman from Hathras, who died in a Delhi hospital after sustaining serious injuries during an alleged gang rape, was cremated early Wednesday in her village amid tight security.
The victim, who was paralyzed after being allegedly dragged on the field by her attackers on September 14, died at the Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday after battling for life for a fortnight.
Her mortal remains reached the Boolgarhi village around midnight and the cremation was done at 3 a.m.
Meanwhile, as the nation demands justice for a 19-year-old Dalit woman from Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras who was gangraped and later died, another Dalit woman was abducted in Hathras.
The Dalit woman was abducted Monday while she was travelling with her mother in a tempo. The incident took place at Raya Road which comes under the Sadabad police station in Hathras.
The woman and her mother had come to Sadabad to buy medicines and were returning home in a tempo in the evening.
During the journey, the woman felt sick and started vomiting. As a result, her mother stepped down from the tempo to fetch her some water.
Taking the opportunity, the tempo driver and two other men decided to abduct the woman. They sped away in the vehicle with the woman, leaving the mother behind.
On the other hand, Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikrant Veer denied any ‘urgency’ by the police in holding the cremation at night even though cremations do not normally take place after sunset.
He added that the cremation was done by the family as usual after the body reached Boolgarhi village. The SP claimed that the situation is calm in the village, but heavy police force has been deployed.
The woman was allegedly raped in a Hathras village by four men, who were later taken into custody. Initially she was rushed to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Aligarh, but on Monday night had to be shifted to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi after her condition deteriorated.
She was in a critical condition and on ventilator support. The police claimed that the post-mortem report did not confirm any sexual assault.
The brutality against the teenager sparked outrage across the country with several political leaders, Bollywood actors and activists demanding justice for her.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi tweeted that it was a matter of concern that the victim’s family was denied the right to perform her last rites. “This is unjust and unfair,” he said.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also tweeted: “Government has snatched away the family’s right to perform the cremation of the victim. The government did not provide her security and timely treatment and now they have denied her dignity in death.”
