Hathras case: Victim's family appears before Allahabad high court

Lucknow, Oct 12: Family members of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died after allegedly being raped by four men in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district last month, appeared before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday.

The family comprising the victim's father, mother and three brothers was brought amid tight security from Hathras earlier in the day. The court had on October 1 asked the woman's parents to apprise it of their version of the incident and had also ordered the Hathras district administration to arrange for their travel to the court and facilitate their appearance before it.

The high court had directed the district judge to ensure that the victim's family members appear before it on Monday. The court has also summoned additional chief secretary, home; director general of police; ADG, law and order; and the district magistrate and superintendent of police of Hathras to furnish the status report of the investigation in 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 massive outrage among people resulting in a pitched political battle from Delhi to Hathras.

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

A division bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Jaspreet Singh had also ordered the Uttar Pradesh additional chief secretary, state police chief and an additional director general of police to appear before it on October 12 to explain the incident.