Hathras case: Gang rape can’t be ruled out, says AIIMS report

Sexual assault on the 19-year-old Hathras victim cannot be ruled out as the pattern of injuries sustained during sexual violence may show considerable variations, an AIIMS medical board's report submitted to the CBI has said.

The revelations have been made in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) charge sheet filed against the accused for gang rape and murder in a Hathras court.

The court has since taken cognisance of the charge sheet, the lawyer for the accused told reporters.

The 19-page charge sheet, accessed by IANS, points out that the All India Institute of Medical Sciences' (AIIMS) Multi-Institutional Medical Board (MIMB) headed by Dr Adarsh Kumar, Professor of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, has submitted its report to the agency.

The MIMB report said that "...the possibility of sexual assault cannot be ruled out. The pattern of injury sustained during an incident of sexual violence may show considerable variations. This may range from complete absence of injuries (more frequently) to grievous injuries (very rare). In this case, since there was a delay in reporting or documentation or forensic examination for sexual assault, these factors could be responsible for the absence of significantly visible signs of genital injury."

The CBI said that the MIMB also noted that the post-mortem report of the victim also mentions multiple old healed tears in the hymen.

The CBI charge sheet said that the victim's dying declaration was "key evidence" and supports other proof and establishes the charges against accused Sandeep, Luvkush, Ravi and Ramu.

The Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped by four upper-caste men in Hathras on September 14 this year. She died on September 29 at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital during treatment.

The police's handling of the case - particularly the late-night cremation of the victim allegedly without the family's approval - led to angry protests across the country.

The officials, however, maintained that the cremation was done "as per the wishes of the family".

CBI officials said that they have looked into the role of accused Sandeep, Luvkush, Ravi and Ramu, who are in judicial custody, and they were also put through different tests at the Forensic Science Laboratory in Gandhinagar.

The CBI had constituted a special team to probe the case as it was handed over to its Ghaziabad unit. The team recorded the statements of the victim's family.

The CBI officials, who had camped in Hathras after taking over the case on October 11, had also met doctors at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, where the victim was treated after the alleged gang rape on September 14.

The Yogi Adityanath government had faced a lot of flak on the handling of the case which was later transferred to the CBI.