Hathras victim cremated amid tight security, police denies coercion

Hathras (Uttar Pradesh) : The mortal remains of the 19-year-old Dalit woman from Hathras, who died a fortnight after sustaining grievous injuries in an alleged gang rape, was cremated early Wednesday in her village amid tight security.

The victim died at the Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday after being paralysed.

Her mortal remains reached the Boolgarhi village around midnight and the cremation was done at 3 a.m. There was tension as people tried to block the ambulance from moving ahead.

"The police have forcibly taken the dead body, and my father along with them for cremation. When my father reached Hathras, he was immediately taken (to the crematorium) by the police," the victim's brother told the media.

However, Hathras police have denied the charges and has issued a notice saying the coercion being talked about on social media is canard. It said: "The family cremated the body with due rituals under the supervision of police and administration."

Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikrant Veer denied any 'urgency' by the police in holding the cremation at night even though cremations do not normally take place after sunset.

He added that the cremation was done by the family as usual after the body reached Boolgarhi village. The SP claimed that the situation is calm in the village, but heavy police force has been deployed.

The woman was allegedly raped in a Hathras village by four men, who were later taken into custody. Initially she was rushed to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Aligarh, but on Monday night had to be shifted to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi after her condition deteriorated.

She was in a critical condition and on ventilator support.

The police claimed that the post-mortem report did not confirm any sexual assault.

With inputs from IANS