Hathras rape case: Accused letter to the cops’ hints towards honor killing

Last updated on February 17th, 2023 at 12:43 pm

Very upsetting news, surfaced in September when a young Dalit lady was allegedly assaulted and gang-raped by four upper-caste men was reported in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh on Sept 14. She had succumbed to her wounds in Delhi hospital on Sept 29.

On Wednesday, the prime accused in the gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman, Sandeep Thakur, wrote a letter to the Hathras Superintendent of Police, claiming that the four accused are innocent. The letter was signed with thumb impression of the four accused.

Sandeep claimed in the letter that the girl was brutally beaten up by her mother and brother on September 14, the day of the episode. She was a victim of honor killing as her family was against their “relationship,” he added.

He said that he was friends with the girl and they would meet and also talk on the phone. The young girls’ family, however, disliked and was against their friendship, he stated. The victim’s family denies such allegations and demand justice for their daughter.

The Uttar Pradesh Police stated that call records of around 104 calls between the woman’s brother and Thakur prove that the family knew one of the accused; however, doubts arose as police neither confirmed it nor shared any proof regarding the phone calls with the media.

Nationwide outrage sparked when the UP Police cremated victim’s dead body late at night. The family has accused the authorities of locking them inside their home and not allowing them to perform the last rights. However, the authorities have denied the allegations and stated that cremation was performed after the consent of the family.

The sequence of events after the gang-rape raised many questions on the authorities. Events like; the state denying it’s a rape case, rushing to cremate the victim’s body, and also that this was not a caste-based crime. However, critics and Opposition doubt the intention behind giving police protection to the family, is it to cover up the matter?

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi also accused the police of the character assassination of the young woman and stated the victim deserves justice and not slander.

Read: India’s GDP to contract by 9.6% this fiscal, predicts World Bank

Chief Minister of U.P. Yogi Adityanath denounced and attacked the Opposition parties for protesting against the Hathras rape case. He blamed the Opposition for brewing conspiracies against the state and for playing petty politics based on region, caste, and religion, the ANI reported.

U.P state government has set up a Special Investigation Team. CM Adityanath has given a ten days extension to the SIT to probe the case.