Hathras teen cremated in dead of night, UP CM sets up SIT amid outrage

“The cremation was done around 2.30-3 in the morning," her father told PTI, a day after his daughter, who suffered critical injuries when she was allegedly gangraped and tortured by four upper caste men a fortnight ago, gave up the battle for life. As protests broke out in several parts of the country and political leaders and activists voiced their protest over the manner in which the funeral was conducted near the woman’s home in a village in Hathras, a local police officer said it was carried out “as per the wishes of the family”.

The body of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, whose brutal gangrape and death spotlighted once again the vulnerability of women in India, was cremated in the dead of the night on Wednesday with family members alleging they were forced by police to hurriedly conduct the last rites. “The cremation was done around 2.30-3 in the morning," her father told PTI, a day after his daughter, who suffered critical injuries when she was allegedly gangraped and tortured by four upper caste men a fortnight ago, gave up the battle for life.

As protests broke out in several parts of the country and political leaders and activists voiced their protest over the manner in which the funeral was conducted near the woman’s home in a village in Hathras, a local police officer said it was carried out “as per the wishes of the family”. In the moments preceding the cremation of his sister in what seemed to be a night without end, the teen's brother told PTI from his home, "Police have forcibly taken the body and my father along with them for cremation. When my father reached Hathras (from New Delhi), he was immediately taken (to the crematorium) by the police." Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and said strict action should be taken against the culprits, according to the Chief Minister's Office.

The chief minister constituted a three-member SIT to probe the case and asked that the trial be conducted in a fast track court. The SIT has been asked to submit its report in seven days, an official said.  Adityanath also spoke to the father and assured him strict action against the accused. Recalling the horrors of the Nirbhaya case, the Dalit teen was allegedly sexually assaulted by the men on September 14 and referred on Monday to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi with spinal injuries, paralysis and cuts in her tongue. She died around 3 am on Tuesday.

The men alleged to be involved in the crime are under arrest and will now face charges under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, according to Hathras Superintendent of Police Vikrant Vir. The family left Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi on Tuesday night amid heavy police deployment and reached their village in Hathras, about 180 km from the national capital, after the body of the young woman, claimed a family member. Family members said the body of the woman, the youngest of five siblings, arrived in an ambulance after midnight in the village. The vehicle was parked on a road near the house and not taken to the family's home but straight to the crematorium, they alleged. Another relative said 30 to 40 people accompanied the woman's father, who sells milk for a living, to the crematorium.

Senior police and administration officials were present at the crematorium, an official said. Purported visuals from the site showed flames from what appeared to be a pyre lighting up the sky and heavy police presence with some personnel in anti-riot gear keeping the media at bay. Anguished cries from family members broke the silence of the night. “I wanted my daughter to come home first… At least we could have applied ‘haldi’ on her body. This was her last goodbye. She won't come back now,” her mother said in a video, sobbing uncontrollably. "We are unable to understand, what they want... what kind of politics is this. They are giving random statements like the woman has not been raped," added a relative who was at home with the grieving family. "They are doing all this to hush up the case." However, Hathras Joint Magistrate Prem Prakash Meena said the final rites were carried out according to procedures and with permission and support of the family in order to maintain law and order. "The situation in the village and in Hathras was normal,” he said.

The young woman's sexual assault two weeks ago, her death yesterday and the details of her middle-of-the-night cremation led to nationwide outrage, protests and calls for justice from all sections of society. While scores of Left and Congress leaders were detained when they staged protests against the Yogi Adityanath government near the UP Bhawan in Delhi, opposition leaders questioned the circumstances and the timing of the cremation. "I was on the phone with the Hathras victim's father when he was informed that his daughter had passed away. I heard him cry out in despair," said Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Tagging Adityanath in a tweet, she added, "RESIGN. Instead of protecting the victim and her family, your government became complicit in depriving her of every single human right, even in death. You have no moral right to continue as chief minister." Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said her party strongly condemns the “wrong attitude” of the police. "The cremation of Hathras gangrape victim by the Uttar Pradesh Police without handing over the body to the family or without their consent and in their absence in the dead of night is raising doubts and resentment,” she said, asking for the Supreme Court to take cognisance of the case. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the cremation was done in the middle of the night to erase evidence.

In a press statement, the Politburo of the ÇPI(M) said the "barbaric caste based rape" is "reflective of the utter lawlessness" in the northern state. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the young woman was first “raped by some beasts” and then the “entire system”. in Mumbai, Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil termed the "behaviour" of the UP Police "inhuman and unfortunate".

Women’s rights activists added their voice to the chorus of condemnation and said the teen was robbed of dignity even in death. "When the family found her and she was taken to the police station, the police said she is trying to trap people and then she was hospitalised and not kept in a ICU for six days and then on her death the police blamed the victim's family and they are denying this Dalit family and victim dignity even in death and mourning," said Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association, Yogita Bhayana, who heads the group People Against Rape in India (PARI), described the incident as “something beyond human rights violation". "It is the newest low. Even in the Nirbhaya case there was nothing like this. None of the cases this happened. The family deserves an answer. They can only do this to a Dalit family..they knew the caste would not retaliate so they did this," she said.

Rights activist Shamina Shafiq pointed out that Hindu rituals do not allow for cremations after sunset. The National Commission for Women said it will seek an explanation from the UP Police.

"In UP Gang-Rape Tragedy, 2.30 am Cremation By Cops, Family was Kept Out. @NCWIndia condemn it strongly. Why the family wasn't allowed in Cremation?  Why at night?@Uppolice @hathraspolice," said NCW chief Rekha Sharma tweeted..