Tight security at Hathras village on Monday. (Express Photo: Praveen Khanna)Hathras rape case Live news Updates: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tuesday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government saying that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should have the decency to call the alleged gang rape and killing of a Dalit woman in Hathras district a tragedy.
Gandhi, who is currently holding a series of tractor rallies in Punjab to protest the Centre’s new farm laws, also took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he has not spoken “a word” on the Hathras incident, news agency PTI reported.
Menwhile, the Supreme Court Tuesday described the Hathras case as “extraordinary” and “shocking” while hearing a petition seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the alleged gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman by four upper caste men.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde and comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, sought suggestions from all parties on the scope of proceedings before the Allahabad High Court, and what it could do to expand it. It asked to Uttar Pradesh government to file a response by Wednesday on its witness protection plan and whether the family of the victim had access to a lawyer. The matter will be taken up for hearing next week.
Ahead of the hearing, the UP government had filed an affidavit in court stating it was forced to cremate the body of the victim in the dead of the night on October 1 due to “extraordinary circumstances and a sequence of unlawful incidents”. The state government claimed the victim’s family was present for the cremation and “agreed to attend to avoid further violence”.
Uttar Pradesh Police personnel try to stop Bhim Army President Chandrashekhar Azad and party workers while they were on their way to meet the family members of the Hathras victim. (PTI Photo)
An FIR has been registered against former BJP MLA Rajveer Singh Pehelvan and 100 others for a meeting attended by scores of people here defying prohibitory orders. The meeting was held outside Pehelvan’s house on Sunday where they defended the accused in the alleged gang-rape of a Dalit woman, who later died, and demanded registration of an FIR against her family members. Click here to know more.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tuesday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government saying that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should have the decency to call the alleged gang rape and killing of a Dalit woman in Hathras district a tragedy. Gandhi, who is currently holding a series of tractor rallies in Punjab to protest the Centre's new farm laws, also took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he has not spoken "a word" on the Hathras incident, news agency PTI reported.
The Kerala Union of Working Journalists has filed a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court against the arrest of a Kerala journalist by the Uttar Pradesh police. Journalist Siddique Kappan was detained along with three other men from a toll plaza in Mathura on Monday. The police claimed the men were part of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and Campus Front of India (CFI) and were on their way to Hathras.
A joint delegation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Tuesday met the family members of the Hathras victim and demanded an independent judicial enquiry into the matter.
The delegation consisted of CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D Raja, CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat, CPI national secretary Amarjeet Kaur, CPI(M) UP state committee secretary Hiralal Yadav and CPI UP state secretary Girish Sharma, PTI reported.
The National Commission of Womn (NCW) has sough explanation from BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya, Congress leader Digvijay Singh and and actress Swara Bhasker on allegedly revealing the identity of Hathras victim on Twitter. It has also directed them to delete the posts.
"... you are hereby required to provide a satisfactory explanation to the Commission on receipt of this notice and shall remove and refrain from transmission of such pictures/ videos on the social media as they are widely circulated by your follower which is prohibited by the existing law," the NCW directed.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has questioned the Uttar Pradesh government's claims of conspiracies to flare communal and caste violence in the state in the wake of the Hathras incident, and said that the government should focus on getting the victim’s family justice. "Only time will tell whether the allegations being levelled by the UP government... But, the public opinion is that the family of the victim in Hathras get justice. It will be better if the UP government focuses on this,” the BSP chief wrote on Twitter in Hindi.
“The whole country is furious and angry over the way the Hathras victim’s family was treated which wrong and inhuman. The government should correct the mistakes committed by it and should get serious about getting family justice, else it will difficult to stop such heinous incidents,” Mayawati wrote in another tweet.
The comment comes a day after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reiterated his allegation that “conspiracies are being hatched every day” against his government by “those who want to incite caste and communal riots”.
Advocate Indira Jaising, who appeared on behalf of the petitioners, sought protection for the witnesses. To this, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the witnesses were already protected. The Supreme Court then asked the SC to put on record that a witness protection plan was already in place. The SG said he would file by Wednesday.
The Supreme Court has sought suggestions from all parties on the scope of proceedings before the Allahabad High Court, and what it could do to expand it.
The Supreme Court has called the Hathras incident "extraordinary" and "shocking", while hearing a writ petition seeking a CBI or SIT probe into the alleged gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman by four upper-caste men. The bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde tells the lawyers arguing the case it was a horrible incident, and it doesn't want repetitive arguments in court, reports PTI.
The Uttar Pradesh government tells the Supreme Court it has already requested the Centre to allow the CBI to probe the Hathras incident. It adds that several narratives are being spread in connection with the case, and this needs to be stopped, reported PTI.
The Supreme Court is hearing a petition seeking a probe by the CBI or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the Hathras incident. The bench is headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde and comprises Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian. The petitioners also want the trial to be shifted to Delhi.
In its affidavit in the Supreme Court, the Uttar Pradesh government has noted three statements provided by the victim before her death. In the first, the state sayd the victim and her mother "clearly stated that she was not injured anywhere else other than the neck, that accused was only Sandeep & that nothing else had happened". It also said the victim's brother spoke about "family enmity" between the victim and the accused. The second statement, the victim said the accused "molested" her. The third statement by the victim raised rape charges against four men.
The Shiv Sena has questioned the Centre for providing security to actress Kangana Ranat but not to the family of the Hathras victim. In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamna, the Sena said: "The Centre gave Y-plus security cover to an actress from Mumbai, but the family of the Hathras gangrape victim does not get any. This is not the principle of equal justice. This justice is not in line with Dr Ambedkars Constitution." Read more here
The New Delhi unit of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists has written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath urging him to ensure the release of two journalists who were taken into custody on Monday. The journalists, including Siddique Kappan, the secretary of the organisation, was en route Hathras on Monday morning to cover the case when they were stopped by the police at the Hathras toll plaza.
"Our efforts and the efforts by some advocates based in Delhi to contact him were not successful. The Hathras Police Station and the State Police department has not provided any information so far on taking him into custody," president of the association Miji Jose said. "Siddique was trying to do his duty as a reporter.
The UP Police, on the other hand, said it had arrested four people, including Siddique, for links with the Popular Front of India. Officials siezed their mobile phones, laptops and some literature from them, reported PTI.
The Uttar Pradesh government's affidavit in the Sureme Court seeks to highlight "role of social media, certain sections of print and electronic media along with some sections of the political parties in making a deliberate and planned attempt to incite caste/communal riots in the state using the” incident."
The Uttar Pradesh government tells the Supreme Court that despite its diligent probe in the Hathras case, "different false narrative started gaining momentum at the behest of some vested interests". It added that it recommended a CBI probe in the case as it "will ensure that no vested interests will be able to create a fake & false narrative with oblique motives".
The Uttar Pradesh government has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on the Hathras case. It has stated that it was "forced" to cremate the victim's body at night due to "extraordinary circumstances and a sequence of unlawful incidents". It also claims the cremation was done "in the presence of family members who agreed to attend to avoid further violence".
The Indian Express reported on October 1 that the hurried cremation of the body was marked by a disregard to protocol and heavy handedness by a police force that did not let her family perform her last rites.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Pourakarmika Sangha held a black band protest this morning to express solidarity with the family of the 19-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, who was allegedly gangraped and murdered last month
Good morning. Today we will bring you the latest updates on the Hathras case and the protests that have erupted in several parts of the country over the alleged gangrape and murder of a 19-year Dalit woman by four upper caste men. The Supreme Court is expected to take up for hearing today a writ petition seeking a CBI or SIT probe into the case. The petitioners have also sought that the trial be moved to Delhi.
Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) on Monday staged a protest here over the alleged gang-rape of a Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras district and demanded a Supreme Court monitored probe into the incident. A large number of JKNPP activists including women led by party chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh assembled outside party headquarters at Gandhi Nagar and raised slogans demanding capital punishment to the culprits involved in the gang-rape. --PTI