New Delhi/Hathras: A 19-year-old woman, who was brutally gang-raped in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district two weeks ago, died of her grievous injuries at a Delhi hospital on Tuesday, prompting outrage, protests and calls for justice.
Recalling the horrors of the Nirbhaya case, the Dalit teen was allegedly sexually attacked by four men on September 14 and referred on Monday to a Delhi hospital in an extremely critical condition with spinal injuries, paralysis and cuts in her tongue. She couldn’t survive the night and died at 3 am, Hathras Superintendent of Police Vikrant Vir quoted her family as saying.
As news of her death spread, protests broke out at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital as well as in Vijay Chowk and in Hathras, about 180 km away. All sections of society, including politicians, sports and cine stars and activists, spoke out on Twitter and elsewhere to express their anguish and demand justice for her.
The four men alleged to be involved in the crime have been arrested and will now face charges under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, according to the Hathras SP.
A Delhi Police official later said the victim’s body was taken by the Uttar Pradesh Police from the hospital. “Her father and cousin were also taken to UP,” he said.
On September 14, the young woman had gone to the fields with her mother and went missing soon after. She was found later, beaten and tortured, her tongue cut as she bit it when the accused attempted to strangle her, the SP said while giving details of the attack.
A spokesperson at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Aligarh where she was first admitted said her legs were completely paralysed and arms partially paralysed.
Leading the protests outside Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad said he appealed to all members of the Dalit community to take to the streets and demand death penalty for the guilty.
“The government should not test our patience. We won’t rest until the culprits are hanged,” he said, as restless crowds milled around the complex.
Azad held the state government “equally responsible” for her tragic death.
BSP chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav also spoke out.
In a tweet in Hindi, Mayawati said, “The news of the death of Dalit victim after gangrape in Hathras, UP is very saddening. The government should provide all possible help to the victim’s family and ensure fast punishment to the culprits by prosecuting them in a fast track court. This is the demand of the BSP.”
Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav condoled the death of a “Dalit daughter”.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal described the young woman’s death as a shame for society, the country as well as for all governments. (PTI)
