Media Trial Is Subverting Truth In Hathras Case, says Lawyer Of Accused

These theories are doing rounds in the village in UP바카라�s Hathras district, even after a CBI registered a case of gang rape and murder against four people.

The agency has registered the case against the accused over the horrific death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in the village. However, that hasn바카라�t put an end to the conspiracy theories.

The woman died in a Delhi hospital a fortnight, after she was allegedly gang-raped by the four accused persons.

In Bulgarhi, where upper castes are in the majority, the victim바카라�s family finds little sympathy. Not even other Dalit families side with them. This is a potent weapon for the accused.

Advocate Munna Singh Pundir, who is appearing for the accused in an SC/ST Court in Hathras, even blames the media for cooking up stories and creating a perception that the four men are guilty.

바카라�There is literally zero evidence of rape and murder. The medical report is inconclusive and there is no forensic evidence to prove that these four men were involved. Media trial is subverting the case,바카라� Pundir tells Outlook.

According to the charge sheet filed by the CBI, the woman was in a relationship with one of the four men, Sandeep, till March 2020 as the calls records of the two suggest. But she stopped talking to him and, out of frustration, he, in collusion with three other men, took the extreme step of gang rape and murder.

However, Pundir, says there are gaps in the CBI story. 바카라�It is true that Sandeep and the girl had a friendship but there is no evidence to prove that the girl rejected him and he committed the crime out of frustration.바카라�

He adds: 바카라�The woman바카라�s and Sandeep바카라�s families were upset due to their friendship. The family sent Sandeep out of the village for some work but due to lockdown he came back and the two came in contact again.바카라�

According to Pundir바카라�s version, the woman바카라�s family came to know about their reunion, following which one of her two brothers assaulted her. The woman was the youngest of five children바카라�three sisters and two brothers.

바카라�In that scuffle, the girl received spinal injuries. As she was injured and admitted to a hospital, her mother persuaded her to take the name of Sandeep for the crime,바카라� Pundir says, adding that the day the case was picked up by national media, it became a political issue and leaders and parties jumped into it.

바카라�It is from here that the case took an ugly turn,바카라� he said. Pundir even questions the dying declaration of the girl in which she has narrated the incident. The lawyer has accused that the woman바카라�s family have tried to hide a lot of facts. He says that her school certificate puts her age at 23.

바카라�However, I fail to understand why the family is hiding the actual age,바카라� Pundir says. Outlook couldn바카라�t independently verify the lawyer바카라�s claim.

 When Outlook met the victim바카라�s family in Hathras, her eldest brother had denied any contact between the victim and the accused at any point of time. 바카라�These are the stories floated by the accused. There is no truth in that,바카라� he says.

The trial of the case is going on in the Hathras SC/ST special court and the statement of the prosecution witnesses are being recorded right now. Pundir says he will try to prove the family바카라�s role in the woman바카라�s death.

바카라�The woman바카라�s close relatives work as sweepers and helpers in the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital, Aligarh where she was admitted for the treatment. They know all the doctors and nurses. They were in a better position to know why the women바카라�s condition deteriorated,바카라� says Pundir.

She was later shifted to a Delhi hospital where she passed away.

The CBI had taken all four accused to Gandhi Nagar in Gujarat for brain mapping and lie detector test but their reports were negative.