A 19-year-old Dalit woman from Uttar Pradesh has allegedly been gang raped by four upper caste men, who also tried to strangulate her. The survivor has been admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) in Aligarh Medical College. She managed to give her statement to the police days after the incident and has stated that she was raped by four upper caste men on September 14, when she had gone to collect fodder for animals.
Earlier, based on her brother’s complaint, the police had booked a man identified as Sandeep for attempt to murder and under the provisions of the SC/ST Act. The accused was arrested and remanded to judicial custody after the family alleged that he had tried to kill the teen over some old enmity.
On Tuesday after the survivor’s statement, rape charges were added to the FIR and three more people were booked. “One more accused has been held and others, too, will be arrested soon,” Hathras SP Vikrant Vir said.
Additional SP Prakash Kumar said the survivor’s statement under section 161 of CrPC was not recorded earlier by the investigating officer as the survivor had been in the ICU after she was referred to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Aligarh from Hathras district hospital. He said the charge sheet would be filed soon.
Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Vice President Deepak Kumar met the survivor and alleged that the family was being threatened by the accused as well as by the police. He said that he would give a detailed report on the matter to party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi and party state chief Ajay Kumar Lallu.
Congress leader Shyoraj Jivan Valmiki, who also reached Hathras on Wednesday to meet the survivor’s family members, demanded action against police officers for the delay in recording the statement, adding that injustice to the members of the Dalit community would not be tolerated.
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