'Justice a Dalit deserves': Hathras victim’s kin reacts as 3 accused walk free

An Uttar Pradesh court on Thursday convicted a person and acquitted three others in the Hathras rape case. The SC/ST court convicted the main accused Sandeep Singh on the charge of manslaughter not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code, while the remaining three accused were acquitted.

Following the verdict, the victim's family said they would appeal the decision to the High Court.

The case relates to the alleged rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman at Boolgarh in Hathras district of western Uttar Pradesh in September 2020. Four upper caste Thakurs from the same village, Sandeep (20), Ravi (35), Luv, Kush (23) and Ramu (26). Of these four, three were acquitted and Sandeep was given life imprisonment. The mortal remains of a Dalit girl who died of injuries she sustained after she was allegedly gang-raped were cremated by the Uttar Pradesh administration against the wishes of the family. 

The victim's sister-in-law said: “We did not get justice. Giving punishment to only one accused will not guarantee us justice.” Our name, respect, and everything is gone.' “This verdict murdered justice,” she said.

The victim's family blamed their caste for the verdict. The victim's brother said, “Judgment is according to our caste. Thakurs and Brahmins can do anything and still get away with it. We will not bury her ashes until justice is served. All four should be punished. We will go to the Supreme Court and even the Supreme Court.” When asked if any political leader spoke to them after the verdict, the victim's sister-in-law said, “The one who was supposed to do politics came. The one who had to help us helped. What should I say about them? We didn't call anyone.”

Congress presidents Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were stopped by the UP administration from visiting the family soon after the incident in 2020. After hours and days, they were allowed to come to see the family in Hathras after the horrific crime. In the last two and a half years, this family's life has come to a standstill. Two men in the family no longer have jobs. The family fears for the safety of their two children. “Children don't go to school. Who will give them security? We fear for the safety of our children.”

On the other hand, the upper caste families in the village are also upset with the court's verdict. They still believe all their men are innocent in the case. Hari Om, representing the Thakurs in the case, said: “Why did our boys have to spend time in jail for no fault of theirs? No one is to blame. This is all a conspiracy. Whatever the court decides, we believe all four are innocent.”

The case was investigated by the CBI, which filed charges of rape and murder against Sandeep, Ramu, Ravi and Lavkush, the victim's upper-caste neighbours. However, the SC/ST court acquitted the three accused – Ramu, Ravi and Luv Kush – and convicted Sandeep only of murder not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the IPC.

What is the ground of conviction under 304 IPC?

In its judgment, the court stated that the victim's injuries were caused by a single force impact. If the strangulation was done with a duppatta, the mark of strangulation could be seen all over the neck. The victim died after eight days, so it cannot be said that the accused's intention was definitely to kill her.

What did the SC/ST court order say?

The victim's brother cannot be considered a key eyewitness. The deceased first mentioned one name, Sandeep, in her original statement recorded under CrPC 161 which was made on video. She later named three more – Ravi, Ramu and Luv Kush. The statement was recorded by a policewoman named Sarla.

In her statement, the victim spoke of being pulled by the dupatta, but did not mention the gangrap. The ligature marks also showed a front wound to the neck, not the back. Regarding the videotaped dying declaration, the court noted that frequent changes to the declaration cast doubt on authenticity.

The victim's lawyer, Seema Kushwaha, said: “The evidence was not properly examined by the court. It was given with a biased mindset. Autopsy shows injuries. The autopsy was done 15 days after the incident, so why does the court not take note of the healed injuries after 15 days? How can you claim that there was no evidence of rape with healed wounds? “The court said that the victim did not name all the four accused in the first statement, but their names were disclosed to the police in a written letter dated September 16. How can you expect a detailed statement from a girl who has been badly injured and is not fully conscious?” she added.

“There's a victim's death statement and there's a statement to the commander. The CBI itself said that the police were negligent in their investigation. All this should have been taken into consideration by the court,” said Kushwaha. There are still only four Dalit families in Boolgarhi village, with the houses of both the victim's and the accused's families adjoining each other. This means that police protection will continue to be deployed, especially as all three who have been given a clean chit will return home.