Affidavit also says that families of the accused and victim ‘had personal enmity since a long time’
New Delhi (ILNS): The Uttar Pradesh government has filed an affidavit with the Supreme Court, in which it has claimed that permission was taken from the family of the Hathras victim before cremation. The government has also claimed that the families in question “had personal enmity since a long time.”
This was in reply to a petition filed by social activist Satyama Dubey on September 30, which sought the transfer of the case to the CBI or an SIT which is monitored by the top court, or at least a high court. The plea had also sought transfer of the case from UP to Delhi.
In its affidavit, the government said:
“…different false narratives started gaining momentum at the behest of vested interests. To ensure the investigation remains fair, neutral the state government constituted a SIT headed by a home secretary officer with a lady officer. With a view to ensure that a investigation by central agency which is not within the administrative control of the state administration, the state govt has already requested the central govt to take over the investigation through the CBI established under the Delhi special police Establishment Act. This will ensure that no vested interests will be able to create a fake and false narrative with oblique narratives.”
The government then goes on to distance itself from the controversy, saying: “…the victim was cremated in presence of the family members who agreed to attend to prevent further violence.” This was in complete contradiction to what media persons allegedly saw and reported.
The government also mentioned the “role of certain social media, certain section of print and electronic media and some section of the political parties in making deliberate and planned attempt to incite caste/communal riots.”
The affidavit says that
“In the FIR lodged on September 19, the girl clearly stated that Sandeep had made an attempt to strangulate her throat by hand and there was pain in her neck. Both the victim and her mother clearly stated (Video recorded) that she was not injured anywhere else other than the neck, that accused was only Sandeep and that nothing else had happened.”
The affidavit also said: “…Sandeep had earlier also gone to jail in the year 2002-2003 under the complaint filed by the grandfather of the victim and thus families had personal enmity since a long time which had resulted in such a assault on the victim. The local police immediately registered FIR no. 136 of 2020 under section 307 of IPC and section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribe (Prevention and Atrocities) Act, 1989 against accused Sandeep and took the girl to the Hathras hospital for medical examination.”
Thereafter, the affidavit also says:
“The senior most doctors of the Aligarh medical college after the examination found that the C6 bone behind the neck as ‘displaced fracture’ due to which the spinal cord was injured and oxygen supply to the body was affected. The doctors repeatedly advised the parents to give their consent to shift the girl to a Spinal Injury Specialist Hospital so that the victim could be treated better. However, the parents refused to give their consent. The victim remained admitted in the ICU of the Aligarh Medical College for 15 days till September 28, 2020. True copy of the entire medical report was submitted by Aligarh JN Medical College on September 29.”
These were ‘revelations’ presented by the government to the court. The government also maintained: “On September 19, another statement of victim was recorder in presence of her family members, wherein she said the accused Sandeep alias Chandu had also molested her and tried to kill her by strangulating her with a cloth (Dupatta). On the basis of this the police immediately added section 354 of the IPC to the FIR. The Police arrested the accused on September 20, under section 307/354 of IPC as well as under section 307 of IPC and section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST and was taken into custody under Section 167 CrPC.
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“On September22, in a revised statement the victim for the first time stated that “…when my mother and I had gone to fetch fodder, then Sandeep, Ramu, Luvkush, and Ravi of my village have committed rape upon me. Sandeep then strangulated me with Dupatta…” The woman constable questioned the victim as to why she had not disclosed these facts earlier, to which the victim said she was not in her senses. In their statements the parents of the victim too stated that their daughter was gang raped by (sic) few men in village. On the basis of these statements, according to the affidavit the police immediately added another section of gang-rape to the FIR on September 22, and deleted Section 354 of IPC. Urgent steps were taken to arrest the three accused. Accused Luvkush was arrested on September 23, accused Ravi was arrested on September 25 and accused Ramu was arrested on September. 26.”
-ILNS