Recently, a special court acquitted three of the four accused in the Hathras gangrape and murder case. The three men are back in the village. A long and arduous battle lies ahead for the girl바카라s family. Her ashes wait for justice
The ashes are yet to be immersed and are kept in one corner of the spartan house in Bhulgarhi village in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. This house stands out. The team of 80 CRPF jawans that had taken over the security of the family following the directions of the Supreme Court in October 2020, is still keeping a watch in batches.
Over a period of nearly thirty months, the ashes and the heavy CRPF presence have reminded the family every single day that they will have to keep fighting for justice for the 19-year-old daughter of the family, who was brutally gang-raped on September 14, 2000. She died 15 days later, on September 29.
The ashes will be kept in the corner of the house for longer now.
On March 3 this year, a special court acquitted three of the four accused바카라Ramu, Lavkush and Ravi바카라and convicted Sandeep for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and for offences under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The three acquitted have been released from the Aligarh jail and are back in the village. A section of Bhulgarhi village is silently rejoicing the apparent victory of what they perceive as 바카라truth바카라.
The special court judgement has not surprised the girl바카라s family. 바카라The defence lawyer had warned that the judgment would be held in their favour,바카라 says the girl바카라s brother. 바카라We are now planning to go to the High Court. 바카라This is just the beginning. The truth will come sooner or later,바카라 he adds.
The 19-year-old Dalit girl, referred to as 바카라victim바카라 in government documents, was gang-raped on September 14, 2020, by the four upper-caste men belonging to the Shikhawat Thakur community.
One of the villagers found her lying in his field unconscious and naked. The family immediately rushed to the Chandpa Police Station and registered an FIR. The police asked the family to admit her to a hospital. 바카라I could not pay attention to my complaint at that point, nor was I fully aware of what had happened with my sister,바카라 reads her brother바카라s statement.
She was referred to the JNMSC Aligarh Hospital the same day and her statement was taken. She kept repeating the name of Sandeep.
On September 28, she was moved to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where she died a day later. Forensic tests were conducted on September 22. The case was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The family asked for a judicial inquiry.
They could not give her a dignified cremation as her body was burnt by the local police in the presence of the District Magistrate without her family바카라s presence or consent. 바카라We brought the ashes and flowers from her cold pyre. We would never know if it really was my sister who they cremated,바카라 her brother says.
After the recent acquittal of the three accused, villagers, most belonging to the Thakur community, refrained from speaking to the media. Those who did, openly supported the four who according to them are the 바카라real victims바카라.
Narendra Sisodia, a villager, 48, blames the girl바카라s family, media, and politicians for defaming their village and says: "Koi kaand aiso thodi hoyi ho, na koi rape hua hai (No scandal or rape has happened here). 바카라What has happened to the boys is wrong. They had good characters. It바카라s the girl바카라s family who has benefitted from all of this. They have garnered popularity and received money,바카라 he adds.
An eerie silence wraps the field where her body was hastily cremated by the local police and administration despite her family's repeated protests. The family of the girl calls the judgment fabricated. They say arguments presented by their lawyer have not been mentioned in the court order. 바카라This is why we never asked for a government prosecution because we were aware that the state was not standing by us,바카라 says the sister-in-law of the 바카라victim바카라.
During one of the earliest hearings, on March 5, 2021, two drunk men바카라one of them was one of the accused바카라barged into the courtroom and threatened to shoot the lawyer who was representing the girl바카라s family. 바카라The judge, with folded hands, requested them to not create a ruckus. This CCTV footage was removed during the investigation,바카라 says the older brother.
The promises made to the family by the state government remain unfulfilled, except for a compensation of Rs 25 lakh which is running out as there is no earning member in the family. The girl바카라s father, who earlier worked as a sweeper in the government school, has lost his job.
The day after the girl was cremated, some men secretively took her father out and assured the family that they would offer them a government job. But they are now offering a private job, say her brothers 바카라They even promised us a house in Hathras. We declined because of safety issues. Our home is better,바카라 says the girl바카라s sister-in-law.
She shifted her daughter, 7, to her maternal house to ensure that her education does not suffer. Their other two daughters have turned three and four and enrolling them in a school is a big challenge for the family.
She breaks into tears and says, 바카라Because of the CRPF surveillance, we can't have people over or go anywhere without their approval. My daughter does not want to come here. She says the village murdered her bua (aunt).바카라
Disappointed and anguished at the court order, the younger brother says, 바카라If this was how the administration and law were to function, they should rather have declared their judgment in a gram panchayat. We would at least be spared from the stress of running to the courts.바카라
The girl바카라s lawyer will be appealing against the order in the high court. A long and arduous battle lies ahead for the girl바카라s family. Her ashes wait for justice.