NCW chief warns those revealing Hathras victim's identity, names some and warns others

National Commission for Women (NCW) chief Rekha Sharma has warned the people who had revealed the Hathras victim's identity about the likelihood of action against them for doing so. Sharma announced this while responding to allegations that said she has a biased mindset towards certain castes.

The tweet accused that Rekha Sharma thinks "it’s totally ok & non-urgent" when BJP's Amit Malviya "commits a cognizable offense and discloses the identity of the Hathras victim just because she was a Dalit." To which, Sharma retorted saying NCW doesn't divide the work based on caste.

'I have details of all...'

She not only pointed out Amit Malviya, but also the likes of Congress' Digvijaya Singh, Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker and many others who revealed the identity of the victim on social media and at Jantar Mantar during protests, adding that NCW will send notices to them once there is clarity on whether or not the victim suffered rape, as also the Allahabad High Court has taken suo moto cognizance into the case. She even asserted that she has details of all who had disclosed the identity of the victim.

Suo Moto cognizance by High Court

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has taken a suo moto cognizance of the death case of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras following what was since the start said to be a horrific gangrape that shocked the nation. The Court on Thursday, October 1, sought a response from senior state officials including the additional chief secretary (Home), Director General of Police, additional chief secretary (Law and Order), and Hathras district magistrate and superintendent of police by October 12.

However, there are varying reports over the incident as the autopsy report said the cause of death of the victim was trauma due to a neck injury and didn't mention rape, following which the UP ADG had contended the same. Videos of the victim's mother as well as the original complaint say she had been strangled and name the person who did it, not mentioning rape.

UP CM orders CBI inquiry 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday ordered the case to be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Prior to this decision, he had ordered the suspension of five police officers including the district's Police Superintendent (SP) Vikrant Vir for the mid-night funeral wherein the victim was cremated without her family's consent in a move that has been widely criticised and questioned. Earlier, the CM had also announced Rs 25 lakh ex-gratia for the family and a government job for the family member, while constituting a SIT to probe the case on a fast-track basis.

Reports until Friday stated that the 19-year-old woman had been gangraped by four upper-caste men in Hathras on September 14 in a field, leaving her in a critical condition. When her condition worsened, she was referred to AIIMS but was admitted to Safdarjung hospital in Delhi last Monday with spinal cord injuries, paralysis, and cuts in her tongue. She succumbed at around 3 am on Tuesday. The case is currently the subject of a huge amount of protest, with political parties also involved. The UP government has filed a FIR alleging criminal conspiracy to incite violence.

READ | Hathras Victim's Mother & Complaint Both Say 'strangled'; Name Who Did It; Don't Say Rape