Published 16:37 IST, September 30th 2020
Hathras rape case: Oppn decries conduct of UP police, demands CM Adityanath's resignation
Opposition parties lambasted UP's Yogi Adityanath government withĀ strong reactions coming in from Congress, Left, and other parties over the Hathras incident
Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath government has come under intense pressure amid calls for the Chief Minister's resignation following the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman who was gang-raped and brutalized in Hathras. The handling of the case by the UP Police and cremation of the victim's body in the wee hours of Wednesday by authorities without the consent of the family has provoked further outrage.
Opposition parties have now lambasted the BJP government with strong reactions coming in from Congress, Left, and other parties.
In a statement, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemned the "callous approach" of the Adityanath government and the "blatant denial of justice" to the Hathras rape victim and her family.
"This barbaric caste-based rape crime is reflective of the utter lawlessness in UP under the BJP Government and the patronage given to casteist and reactionary forces leading to a big increase in crimes against Dalits and women. The recent NCRB report confirms this. The CPI(M) demands action against the police personnel who refused to file an FIR and also against those responsible for the cruel act of forcible cremation," the CPI(M) said.
'Gross, criminal negligence of CM': Congress
The Congress called for an inquiry against the "gross and criminal negligence" of the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ajay Bisht (Adityanath's maiden name). In a press briefing, Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev said the way the victim was cremated, the way she was left in a normal ward for more than six days, is a "gross violation of human rights".
Taking on PM Narendra Modi, a Lok Sabha MP from Varanasi, Dev, said, "Can the Prime Minister tell the country that the very state from which you are elected MP, your Chief Minister is repeatedly failing, women of UP are being brutally murdered, raped and the PM is watching."
"We're ashamed to say Women and Child Development Minister [Smriti Irani] is from UP and she's silent. She is a drama queen. She has proven she has no conviction, zero integrity, she's the worst, most shameless Woman and Child Development Minister in history of India," the Congress leader further said.
Tagging Adityanath in a tweet, the party's general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "RESIGN. Instead of protecting the victim and her family, your government became complicit in depriving her of every single human right, even in death. You have no moral right to continue as chief minister."
SC should take cognizance, says Mayawati
Interestingly, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati issued a muted response and didn't directly take on CM Adityanath. She asked the Supreme Court to take appropriate action by taking cognizance of this serious case on its own. "Otherwise, the attitude of the UP government and the police in this heinous case does not seem to suggest that even after the death of the gang-rape victim, her family will get justice and serve punishment to the culprits.
In another tweet, Mayawati said the hurried cremation of the victim's body at midnight by UP police in the absence of her family "only creates a lot of doubts and resentment among the people". "The BSP strongly condemns such a wrong attitude of the police.
Yogi govt forms SIT to fast-track the case
Meanwhile, the UP CM on Wednesday said that a three-member SIT has been set up to investigate the Hathras gangrape incident. The CM said that the team will submit a report within seven days and has also directed for the trial of the case in a fast-track court.
The three-member team comprising of state Home Secretary Bhagwan Swarup will also comprise members from the Dalit community along with women members. Further, Yogi Adityanath has also spoken to the Prime Minister on the case, where PM Modi has said that strict action must be taken against the culprit
Hathras gangrape victim forcibly cremated, allege kin
The family of the now-deceased victim of the horrific Hathras gangrape alleged that the police cremated her body in the middle of the night without their consent. According to sources, a major scuffle broke out between villagers and District Magistrate and other senior police officials. The villagers claimed that the family had not been allowed to leave the residence, sources added.
The victim was brutally raped by four men in Hathras on September 14. The woman, who suffered spinal injuries, paralysis, and cuts in her tongue, died at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital in the early hours of Tuesday.
Updated 16:37 IST, September 30th 2020