Hathras horror: Supreme Court to hear case as UP govt asks fortnightly reports from CBI

As the CBI begins its probe into the Hathras case, the Supreme Court is set to hear a plea on demanding a court-monitored CBI probe in the case on Thursday. The Uttar Pradesh government has filed an affidavit requesting the court to direct the CBI to submit fortnightly status reports to the state government about the probe. A 19-year-old Dalit woman was reported to be gang-raped and murdered by four upper-caste men in Hathras.

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UP govt to SC: Give 14-day reports

The Uttar Pradesh govt informed that eight CCTV cameras have been installed outside the victim's home to ensure their security. The state government too has asked the apex court to monitor the CBI probe as the team began its investigation on Tuesday. The team head along led by Dy SP  Seema Pahuja, has visited the field where the victim was allegedly strangled, along with the victim's mother and brother, for recreating the crime scene. The team which was accompanied by a forensic expert and police personnel also visited the site where the victim was cremated by police, allegedly without the family's permission.

Hathras case: Victim's family tell HC 'was unaware of her funeral'; next hearing on Nov 2

Allahabad HC pulls up UP police

Earlier on Monday, while taking suo moto cognizance of the case, the Allahabad High Court held that the late-night cremation of the Hathras gangrape victim without her family's consent is an infringement of human rights. Consequently, the bench directed Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi to submit a draft policy on avoiding such incidents in the future. During the hearing, the HC also raised questions on whether the District Magistrate should be allowed to continue at Hathras given that he might be the subject matter of the SIT inquiry.

The family had told the HC that they did not trust the police and that the district magistrate had pressurised them. They added that the police had initially refused to lodge an FIR when they had informed them after finding their daughter lying bleeding in the fields, hurt. The family also reportedly contradicted the police saying that the 'midnight funeral' of the victim was done without their consent adding, "we were not even told about the cremation". Referring to the ongoing protests by several upper-caste men outside their home, the family stated that 'a conspiracy was being done against them in their village', as per sources. 

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What is the Hathras rape case?

A 19-year-old Dalit woman was reported to be allegedly raped by four upper-caste men in a field on September 14 - all accused have been arrested. The victim succumbed to her injuries and her autopsy report read spinal cord injuries, paralysis, and cuts in her tongue with no mention of rape. Citing it, the police has claimed that the victim was 'not raped' highlighting that 'neck injury and trauma' were mentioned as the cause of death and that no traces of sperm were found in her private parts. 

Hathras case: CBI takes away victim's brother for further questioning on inconsistencies

The case took an ugly turn when UP police cremated the victim's body at 2:30 AM on September 30, allegedly without the family's consent, which has been refuted by the police. Five police officers including the district's Police Superintendent (SP) Vikrant Vir have been suspended for the 'midnight funeral'. The family has been offered an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakhs, govt job to one family member and a house by the state govt as several upper-caste men protest outside the victim's home, in favour of the accused, stating that 'no rape occurred'.