WEB DESK
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the probe into the alleged gang rape and murder of the 19-year-old Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, Centre said in a notification on Saturday.
The crime has sparked protests and outrage across the country.
Officials familiar with the development said the central agency is likely to register a first information report (FIR) by late on Saturday night or early on Sunday. CBI will re-register the FIR filed by the state police and then begin investigations according to procedure, they added. CBI will only investigate the case pertaining to alleged gang rape and death of the Hathras woman, the officials said.
The Yogi Adityanath government, which has been criticised over the handling of the crime, had recommended a CBI probe last week even as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dismissed the protests by opposition as “political stunts”.
The order came two days after a non-government organisation (NGO) moved the Supreme Court seeking to transfer the probe in the crime to CBI.
The woman was allegedly raped by four upper caste men on September 14 and was referred to Safdarjung Hospital in an extremely critical condition. She died two weeks later on September 29.
Meanwhile, the family members of the woman will appear before the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court amid tight security on Monday. “The district administration and police are drafting a plan for the journey of the victim’s family to Lucknow so that they may appear before the court on October 12. Finer details are being worked out and it is to be decided when to leave Hathras for Lucknow and how many security personnel would accompany the family members,” Hathras’ superintendent of police said.