Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal condemns ‘system’ for death and ‘forceful’ cremation of Hathras gang-rape victim

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said the Hathras gang-rape victim was "earlier raped by some beasts" and then "the entire system raped her", after the woman's family alleged the police forced them to conduct her last rites in the dead of the night.

The body of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday, a fortnight after she was gang-raped, was cremated in Hathras in the early hours of Wednesday.

Local police officers, however, told PTI that the cremation was carried out "as per the wishes of the family".

"The Hathras victim was earlier raped by some beasts and yesterday the entire system raped her. The entire matter is highly painful," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

Earlier, Kejriwal had termed the death of the 19-year-old victim as a matter of shame for the whole society, country and all governments, and demanded death penalty for the culprits.

The woman was raped in a village in Hathras by four men on September 14. After her condition deteriorated, she was referred to Delhi's Safdarjung hospital where she breathed her last.

As news of her death spread, protests broke out in Delhi as well as in Hathras with all sections of society, including politicians, sports and cine stars and activists, expressing their anguish and demanding justice for her.

Bhim Army and Congress workers staged protests at Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday, demanding justice for the victim. The Uttar Pradesh Police took the victim's body and her family members back to the state from the hospital on Tuesday night.