Hathras gangrape: Rahul Gandhi alleges UP's 'class-specific jungleraj' killed the victim

Amid uproar over the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman days after being gang-raped, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tore into Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath government saying the rape incident was initially dismissed as 'fake news' by the government and hence is responsible for the victim's death. He said the death of the woman is a result of the 'class-specific jungleraj' in the state.

"The 'class-specific' jungleraj of UP killed another young woman. The government said that this is fake news and left the victim to die. Neither this unfortunate incident was fake, nor the death of the victim nor the brutality of the government," Rahul Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on Twitter.

Hathras gang-rape case

The 19-year-old Dalit woman died at a Delhi hospital on Tuesday morning, days after being brutally raped by four men in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh. The victim was shifted to the Safdarjung hospital in Delhi from Aligarh on Monday after her condition showed no signs of improvement.

On September 14, the woman was dragged by her dupatta into the fields from a spot where she had been cutting grass with her family and gang-raped. Following which she was admitted to the AMU's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Aligarh. The accused had also tried to strangulate her to death as she resisted their attempt and in the process, she had also ended up biting her tongue and suffering a severe cut on it. Moreover, spinal fractures left her paralysed and struggling to breathe, said doctors. The four accused — Sandip, Ramu, Lavkush, and Ravi — have been arrested on charges of attempt to murder and gang rape.

As per reports, the victim belonged to the Scheduled Castes community, while the attackers were from a so-called upper caste. According to the area District Magistrate Praveen Kumar Laxkar, she bit her tongue and cut it when her attackers were trying to strangle her.

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Strong reactions

The savage assault has been compared by many on social media to the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and prominent personalities have called for stringent punishment for the accused.

Reacting to the incident, UP minister Siddharth Nath Singh called it 'very saddening' and assured a speedy investigation. "The incident is very saddening. Our government stands with the victim's family. The investigation started immediately and four accused have been arrested. Strict action will be taken. The law will take its course," he told reporters on Tuesday.

The victim's family has accused the Uttar Pradesh police of not helping them initially but reacting only after public outrage.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at Adityanath's government alleging that there is "no semblance of security" for women in UP. She said incidents of rape one after another, in Hathras, Shahjahanpur and Gorakhpur have shaken the State.

After the victim was announced dead, a massive protest was staged outside the Safdarjung Hospital where members of various Dalit organisations denounced the incident and the response of the UP authorities. Bhim Army's Chandrashekhar Azad along with the leaders forcibly entered the morgue area. Police along with CRPF personnel were deployed outside the hospital. The protesters alleged a lapse in treatment that led to the death of the victim within 24 hours. The Party has now called for nationwide protests over her death.

At the protest, the Bhim Army chief said, "I demand the death penalty for the guilty. The government should not test our patience. We won't rest until the culprits are hanged."

Several politicians including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and BSP supremo Mayawati have condemned the incident and criticised the UP government over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. The leaders have demanded that the accused must be hanged to death. 

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