Hathras victim’s kin appear before HC; say her cremation was done against their wishes; seek protection

Family members of the 19-year-old Dalit woman who died after allegedly being raped by four upper caste men in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras appeared before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court, which fixed November 2 as the next date of hearing.

They were heard by the Bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Rajan Roy on Monday.

The UP Additional Chief Secretary; DGP; and the ADG (Law and Order) also deposed before the court, along with the Hathras DM and SP.

The DM told the court that the decision to cremate the body in the night was taken due to the law and order considerations and there was no pressure from the state authorities.

Hathras district magistrate Parveen Kumar Laxar owned full responsibility for the decision related to holding the cremation of the 19-year-old victim in the night.

Laxar pleaded that cremation had been done in the dead of the night because they had received intelligence inputs that some vested interests could try to provoke caste violence.

He also said that there was a possibility the body decomposing if the cremation was delayed further.

He denied that there was any pressure on him from the government or higher officials. Whereas, the victim's family pleaded that the trial of the case be shifted to either Delhi or Mumbai. Seema Kushwaha, counsel for the victim's family said that the family wanted the case to be transferred out of Uttar Pradesh.

She said that the security of the family was a major concern because the family had already been receiving threats from various groups supporting the accused. She said that security should not be turned into a joke.

Seema Kushwaha also urged the court that information about investigations should be kept private so that the family's privacy is not compromised.

She alleged that an effort was being made to alter the narrative in the case by disclosing information related to call detail records and other information.

The family, while deposing before the court, maintained that the cremation of the victim was held against their wishes and neither were they allowed to attend the last rites.

The mother said that they were not even sure if the body cremated was that of their daughter because they were not allowed to see her face for the last time.

The victim's family narrated in detail, the entire sequence of events leading to the 'forced cremation' of the victim. They accused the Hathras police of not registering their FIR and ensuring proper medical aid to the victim.

They said that the local police had been harassing them and the district magistrate had been mounting pressure on them. They said they had no confidence in the administration.

After the family recorded its statement in court, the Hathras district magistrate gave his version.

Additional Advocate General V K Shahi, who represented the state authorities in the court, said the next date of hearing has been fixed for November 2.

The woman's father, mother and three brothers were brought to the court amid tight security from Hathras earlier in the day.

The court had summoned the Additional Chief Secretary, Home; the Director General of Police; ADG, Law and Order; and the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police of Hathras to furnish the status report of investigation into the case.

The woman was allegedly raped by four upper caste men on September 14.

She succumbed to severe assault injuries at a Delhi hospital a fortnight later, which was followed by a hushed up cremation at night, allegedly forced by the district administration.

The brutal injuries suffered by the woman and the administration's move to cremate her body late at night triggered a massive outrage, resulting in a pitched political battle from Delhi to Hathras.

"Shocked" by the murder and alleged gang rape of the Dalit woman and the subsequent cremation, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court had on October 1 summoned top government officials.

With input from agencies