Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the girl's family on Wednesday morning. (Twitter/Rahul Gandhi) As protests seeking justice for the 9-year-old Dalit girl who was allegedly raped, killed and forcibly cremated on Sunday, continued in South West Delhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the girl’s family on Wednesday morning.
“I spoke with the family, they want justice & nothing else. They’re saying that justice is not being given to them & they should be helped. We will do that. I have said that I am standing with them. Rahul Gandhi is standing with them until they get justice,” Gandhi told ANI.
“The tears of her mother and father say just one thing – their daughter, the country’s daughter, deserves justice. And I am with them in this path to justice,” Gandhi Tweeted after meeting the family. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is also expected to visit the family today.
Radhey Shyam (55), a priest at the cremation ground, and three other employees – Kuldeep Kumar (63), Laxmi Narain (48) and Mohd Salim (49), were arrested on Monday.
On Sunday evening, the girl had gone to get water from a cooler at a crematorium near her house. Police said that around 30 minutes later, the priest, Radhey Shyam, and two-three other people known to the girl’s mother called her and showed her the girl’s body, claiming that was electrocuted while getting water.
On Sunday evening, the girl had gone to get water from a cooler at a crematorium near her house.
The girl’s parents claim Shyam coerced them to cremate her body, and the mother also alleged that she suspects her daughter was raped before being killed.
The woman alleged the men didn’t take her permission before lighting the pyre. “I was screaming and a few villagers saw and came to help me. We doused the fire but could only recover my daughter’s legs,” she said.
Based on the girl’s mother’s statement, an FIR was registered.
The remains of the girl were sent for post mortem, but The Indian Express learnt that a medical board formed to look into the cause of death informed police that they were unable to ascertain the cause. The girl’s body had been pulled off the funeral pyre midway through the cremation, and only charred remains could be recovered.
“Based on the girl’s mother’s statement, an FIR was registered under IPC sections 304-A (causing death by negligence), 201 (destruction of evidence), and 342 (wrongful restraint). Later, when speaking to the SC/ST commission, she alleged that her daughter was raped and casteist statements were made against them. Sections under the POCSO Act, SC/ST Act, and IPC sections 302, 376, and 506 were then added to the FIR,” a senior police officer said.
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