Published 17:51 IST, October 5th 2020
Hathras case: Sanjay Singh asks UP CM "Why don't you accept victim's dying declaration?"
Lashing out at the Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath over the Hathras case, AAP MP Sanjay Singh on Monday, alleged that the CM was siding with the accused
Lashing out at the Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath over the Hathras case, AAP MP Sanjay Singh on Monday, alleged that the Chief Minister was siding with the four accused. Singh and several AAP leaders visited the victims' home today following the Gandhis, SP, RLD and Chandrashekhar Azad, apart from UP government officials. On the way to the victim's house, a miscreant threw ink at Sanjay Singh - AAP has termed it a 'BJP attack'. A 19-year-old Dalit woman, who was reported to be allegedly gang-raped by four upper-caste men, succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday.
Sanjay Singh: 'Why don't you accept victim's dying declaration?'
Pointing out to the victim's dying declaration stating that she was raped, Singh said, "I talked to the family. The brutality which has been unleashed on the victim has made the BJP govt the most brutal govt in history. Govt is denying that rape has not happened. Why is he not accepting the dying declaration of the victim? Yogi govt is with the culprits". This statement comes amid reports of upper-caste men protesting outside the victim's house in Hathras, in favour of the accused, stating that 'rape did not occur'.
Singh has already been slapped with a sedition case for his controversial 'caste survey' with the UP government filing cases in different districts of the state and an FIR. The survey had churned out conclusions that ' 63% of people surveyed reportedly called the government 'casteist', while only 29% did not'. Singh had then appealed to people whether 'caste-based killings' in UP should stop, adding "CM, don't work just for Thakurs at the cost of other communities".
What is the Hathras rape case?
The victim was reported to be allegedly raped in Hathras on September 14 in a field, leaving her in a critical condition - all four accused have been arrested. When her condition worsened, she was referred to AIIMS but was admitted to Safdarjung hospital in Delhi on Monday with spinal cord injuries, paralysis and cuts in her tongue. She died around 3 am on Tuesday, but her autopsy report has no mention of rape - which has led to police claiming 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.
The case took an ugly turn when UP police cremated the victim's body at 2:30 AM on Wednesday, allegedly without the family's consent, which has been refuted by the police. The UP govt has suspended five police officers including the district's Police Superintendent (SP) Vikrant Vir for the 'midnight funeral', after the 3-member SIT's recommendation. Now, the case been transferred to the CBI on CM Adityanath's recommendation and an FIR has been filed under various sections of the IPC alleging criminal conspiracy to incite violence via the incident.
Updated 17:51 IST, October 5th 2020