Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday attacked the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh over the death of a Dalit woman from Hathras she was allegedly gang-raped. Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to state that the chief minister and his police say no one was raped because for them and many other Indians, she was “no one.”
“The shameful truth is many Indians don’t consider Dalits, Muslims and Tribals to be human. The CM & his police say no one was raped because for them, and many other Indians, she was NO ONE,” the former Congress chief tweeted. He also tagged a media report by the BBC which asked why police was denying rape when the woman had stated multiple times that she had been raped.
The shameful truth is many Indians don’t consider Dalits, Muslims and Tribals to be human.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 11, 2020
The CM & his police say no one was raped because for them, and many other Indians, she was NO ONE.https://t.co/mrDkodbwNC
A 19-year-old Dalit woman from Hathras was allegedly raped and attacked by four dominant-caste men on September 14. She later succumbed to severe assault injuries at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on September 29.
The Yogi Adityanath government is fighting severe criticism for its handling of the case, particularly after the local police burnt the woman's body at night without the family's approval. However, officials said the cremation was done "as per the wishes of the family". The state government has said that some people were trying to foment caste tensions in the aftermath of the incident. Quoting an FSL (forensic science laboratory) report, it has denied the rape charge.
Meanwhile, a week after the Centre ordered a CBI probe into the case, the central investigation agency has officially taken over the probe into the alleged gangrape. CBI registered an FIR on Sunday morning under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections related to gangrape and murder. The case was earlier registered at Chandpa Police Station, in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh, on a complaint by the victim's brother.
"The complainant had alleged that on 14.09.2020, the accused tried to strangulate his sister in the millet field. The case has been registered by CBI on the request of Uttar Pradesh Government and further Notification from Government of India," CBI Spokesperson RK Gaur said. The agency has constituted a team to probe the case, he said.
With PTI inputs