UP govt 'conspiring' to prove Hathras woman a 'liar': Congress

Chandigarh, Oct 2: A day after a senior UP Police officer claimed that the Hathras Dalit woman was not raped, Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the state BJP government of "conspiring" to prove her a "liar".

He alleged that the UP authorities tried to “hush up things and forcibly cremated the victim” in the dead of night against Hindu rituals.

"This in itself was a painful incident," he said, adding that the Yogi Adityanath government should "hang its head in shame".

"Adityanath's DIG, Law and Order, now says no rape took place. If you had a daughter Adityanathji, you would understand the pain. If any untoward incident takes place with a daughter or a son, how much pain one faces," the Congress leader said.

The former Haryana Minister said the victim in her dying declaration had confirmed gang rape. "After she died you are conspiring to prove her a liar. God will never forgive you, Adityanath, for such acts. You must resign and go to the people of Uttar Pradesh, who will tell you what is the reality of the BJP government,” Surjewala said in Kaithal during a protest against the Centre's farm laws.

Citing forensic examination, Uttar Pradesh Police Additional Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar had said the forensic examination on the woman who died at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday did not indicate rape.

But legal experts debunked the theory, telling PTI that the presence of sperm on the victim’s body cannot be an essential ingredient to prove the crime. Earlier officials had said the rape charge was added to the FIR after the victim told police that she was sexually assaulted.