AGENCIES
Five policemen, including the Superintendent of Police, have been suspended in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district amid growing nationwide outrage over the death of a 20-year-old woman who was allegedly raped by a group of men from a so-called “upper caste” community.
SP Vikrant Vir, DSP Ram Shabd, inspector Dinesh Verma, sub-inspector Jagveer Singh, and head constable Mahesh Pal have been suspended. Vineet Jaiswal, who was posted as SP in Shamli, has now been given the charge of SP Hathras, UP government’s suspension order mentioned.
Demands have also been raised for the suspension of the Hathras district magistrate (DM), who was caught on camera issuing a veiled threat to family members of the victim. However, the DM has been spared for now.
In a video that surfaced on Thursday, DM Praveen Laxkar was seen telling the girl’s father, “Half of the media people have left today, the other half will leave by tomorrow. Only we will stand with you. It is up to you whether you want to change your statement or not.”
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath earlier on Friday said his government is committed to women’s’ safety and those who even think of harming their self-respect will face total destruction.
An initial report by the Special Investigation Team tasked with probing the incident called for their suspension over allegations of mismanagement.
The investigators have also asked for a narco-analysis, otherwise known as lie-detector tests, of all those involved including the arrested suspects and the family of the victim.
The victim, who was attacked on September 14 in a field near her home in Hathras, died on Tuesday. Her body was hastily cremated at 2:30 am by the police in an apparent effort to thwart long-drawn demonstrations.
However, protests flared in many cities across the country including one in Delhi on Friday that was attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Chandrashekar Azad, chief of the Bhim Army which represents members of the Dalit community.
While the family say the woman died as the result of a brutal sexual assault, senior state police officer Prashant Kumar on Thursday said the woman died due to a neck injury. “No sperm was found in samples,” said Mr Kumar.
The ruling BJP has accused opposition parties, including the Congress which has played a key role in the protests of trying to politicise the issue, and assured that the family of the victim will get justice.