Cremation of remaining human tissue and feet of Dalit girl held: Delhi Police

NEW DELHI: The cremation of the remaining human tissue and feet of the Dalit girl, who was allegedly raped and killed in southwest Delhi's Old Nangal area, was conducted on Wednesday by her parents, police said.

The girl died under suspicious circumstances on August 1 even as her parents alleged that she was raped and forcibly cremated by a crematorium's priest.

"The girl's parents received her mortal remains from Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital. They performed the cremation at Old Nangal crematorium in the presence of 15 to 20 people known to them," Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Ingit Pratap Singh said.

During the cremation, around 25 to 30 people from the nearby tent, where a protest against the incident was going on, tried to intrude.

The girl's parents, however, objected and the police asked the intruders to leave, he said.

Police said security personnel have been deployed outside the crematorium gate to prevent such gatherings.

After the cremation, the girl's parents went back to their home with the local beat staff as they feared that they might be stopped by those who opposed the cremation, police said.

The Dalit girl lived with her parents in a rented house in front of the crematorium.

On August 1, she went to get water from a cooler at the crematorium.

Around 6 pm that day, the crematorium's priest, Radhey Shyam, and two-three others called the girl's mother to the spot.

Showing the girl's body to her mother, they claimed that she got electrocuted while getting water.

There were burn marks between her left wrist and elbow, and her lips were also blue.

The priest and the others dissuaded her mother from making a PCR call, saying police would make a case out of it and steal the girl's organs during post-mortem examinatiom, so it was better to cremate her.

The girl was cremated, but subsequently her parents alleged that it was done without their consent.

Four people, including the priest, have been arrested in the case.

The agitated locals, along with the parents of the girl, had blocked a road in the area demanding justice.

However, the city police have cleared one stretch.

The tragic incident has led to a nationwide outcry with many political leaders visiting the parents of the victim.

The case was later transferred to the Crime Branch.