Hathras case: UP Law Minister Brajesh Pathak vows 'Will demand death penalty for accused'

In a major statement, Uttar Pradesh Law Minister Brajesh Pathak on Saturday said that he will demand for the death penalty in court for the four accused in the Hathras case. This statement comes amid the Uttar Pradesh government and police maintaining that 'there was no rape' citing the autopsy report - which does not mention rape. A 19-year-old Dalit woman was reported to be allegedly gang-raped and murdered by four upper-caste men in Hathras.

UP CM Yogi Adityanath on Congress' Hathras conspiracy sting: 'Their plot was to divide'

Accused claim 'innocence'

On Thursday, the four accused - Sandeep, Luv Kush, Ravi and Ramu have written a letter to the Hathras SP alleging that they are innocent and that false charges of murder, physical assault, and atrocities against SC/ST were levied against them in the Hathras case. The letter claims that the main accused and the victim knew each other and that her family allegedly beat her up as they did not approve of their 'friendship'. While the government has installed CCTV cameras and deployed 60 police officials for the protection of the victim's family, several upper-caste men have been protesting outside the victim's house in Hathras, in favour of the accused, stating that 'rape did not occur'. CM Yogi Adityanath has lashed out at the Opposition for attempting to 'inciting caste riots'.

Chandrashekar Azad challenges CM Yogi to prove '100 crore funds claims' as ED refutes it

What is the Hathras gangrape case? 

A 19-year-old woman in a village in UP's Hathras district was reported to have been brutally gang-raped by 4 men when she was collecting fodder for her cattle on September 14 - all four accused have been arrested. The victim succumbed to her injuries and her autopsy report read spinal cord injuries, paralysis and cuts in her tongue with no mention of rape. Citing it, the police has claimed that the victim was 'not raped' highlighting that 'neck injury and trauma' were mentioned as the cause of death and that no traces of sperm were found in her private parts. The case took an ugly turn when UP police cremated the victim's body at 2:30 AM on September 30, allegedly without the family's consent, which has been refuted by the police. 

Hathras case: Accused plead 'innocence', claim victim's kin 'beat her' in a letter to SP

Police filed two FIRs against Congress leader Shyoraj Jivan for his plot to trigger caste riots in the wake of the Hathras case. Apart from this case, police have filed 14 FIRs and 6 cases across UP alleging criminal conspiracy to incite violence via the incident - arresting four PFI members and a journalist. The government which has formed a 3-member SIT to probe into the case, has also filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court demanding an SC-monitored CBI probe while contending that 'no sexual assault occurred'. Five police officers including the district's Police Superintendent (SP) Vikrant Vir have been suspended for the 'midnight funeral' and the family has been offered an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakhs, govt job to one family member and a house. 

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India reports 73,272 new cases; active cases fall below 9 lakhs