Family will not immerse ashes of Hathras victim

Hathras (Uttar Pradesh) : Hours after the Hathras rape victim was hurriedly cremated, her family has decided not to immerse her ashes unless it is confirmed it was she, who had been cremated by the police, at about 3 a.m. on September 30.

"Humko kya pata ki wohi hamari behen thi. We did not even see her face. I collected the ashes on grounds of humanity because it must have been someone's body if not my sister's and I did not want the ashes to be trampled upon," said that victim's brother.

The brother says they will not submit to a narco-polygraph test as they are not the ones who are lying.

"They should conduct these truth tests on the accused and the policemen who are trying to twist the narrative," he said.

It has been six days since the girl, who died after being allegedly assaulted by four upper caste men in her village, was cremated by the police without the presence of the family, according to the victim's kin.

The cremation spot is a small clearing in the middle of a millet field in the village.

The 19-year-old has two brothers and two sisters.

The family is upset over no action being yet been taken against District Magistrate Praveen Laxar, who allegedly misbehaved with the family and even threatened them.

"We have complained against the district magistrate to everyone who has visited us but no action has been taken against him," he said.

(This report from IANS has been edited)