Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday suspended Hathras’ Superintendent of Police Vikrant Veer and four other local cops for alleged dereliction of duty in the events that led to the death of a 19-year-old woman, followed by hasty cremation in the dead of the night in absence of her family members. The policemen who have been suspended include Circle officer Ram Shabd, Inspector Dinesh Kumar Verma, SubInspector Jagveer Singh and head constable Mahesh Pal. Shamli SP Vineet Jaiswal will take charge of Hathras district. According to Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Avanish Awasthi, all these officers will have to undergo a narco test, along with family members of the deceased, to ascertain the truth behind the incident since both have been giving contradictory statements regarding the incident. Sources said that the action had been taken based on the preliminary report given by the SIT that is probing the case.
Earlier in the day, CM Adityanath had said his government is committed to women’s safety and those who even think of harming their self-respect will face total destruction. She said that his government is committed to ensuring the safety woman, adding that those who harm the dignity of “mothers and sisters” in the state will be “destroyed” and given exemplary punishment.
“Those who even think of damaging the honour of our mothers and sisters will be destroyed completely.
They will be given such punishment that it will serve as an example in future. Your UP government is committed to the safety and security of every mother and sister. This is our promise, our determination,” Adityanath said in a tweet in Hindi. The Chief Minister’s assurance came amid massive political uproar over the alleged gangrape and death of the victim in the Hathras case. Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi were arrested and sent back to Delhi when they attempted to meet the victim on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Congress held a prayer meet for the victim at Maharishi Valmiki Temple in the national capital where party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that gross injustice was done to the alleged gangrape victim and is being done to her family.
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad had also said that he will stage a protest at India Gate at 5 pm demanding justice. Also, a delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) was roughed up by Uttar Pradesh Police at Hathras border. The delegation, including party MP Derek O’Brien, was on the way to meet the family of the victim of the Hathras incident. The 19-year-old Hathras girl died at Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital on 29 September, a fortnight after allegedly being gangraped. All the four accused in the incident have been arrested. The government has formed a three-member SIT to probe the case and said the matter will be heard in the fast track court.
The post-mortem report reads that the victim suffered a fracture of “C6 cervical vertebra” and there was “extravasations of blood along the fracture line” and the underlying spinal cord was “contused with ascending oedema”. Also, the postmortem report denies rape charges.
With agency inputs