(Riya Singh, Intern Journalist): A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court asking for a stronger investigation into the Hathras brutality by four upper-caste Thakur men that led to the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman. The petition also seeks the transfer of the trial from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi.
The news comes in the direct aftermath of reports that Uttar Pradesh police cremated the victim’s body without allowing her family to see her. Her family members were locked up while the cremation was held at 3 am, without the rituals that the family wanted honoring.
Advocate Sanjeev Malhotra, who filed the petition on behalf of social activist Satyama Dubey, said that the statement of the UP police that the cremation was carried out “as per the wishes of the family” is false. Successive ground reports by several outlets have in fact proven that the victim’s family were denied the right to organize her cremation.
“The plea underlines the issue that the police authorities have not performed their duties and are shielding the accused. Additionally, the family of the victim is being victimized by upper-caste persons,” Malhotra said.
Reports have also said that one of the upper-caste accused, Sandeep, would harass the girl so consistently that she could not step out of the house.
The petition thus seeks the transfer of investigation to CBI or a Special Investigation Team under a sitting or a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a high court.
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