Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Editorial, "HATHRAS HORROR," in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 October 2020, Vol. 16, Part 2, No. 19 issue

 HATHRAS HORROR

seems to be unprecedented/unparalleled in the rape-cum-murder annals of the country, not just in the manner of the offence committed but also in the manner of the after-treatment of the victim and investigation of the offence even. It is indeed more horrible in its evolution than the terrific Nirbhaya rape case in Delhi 2012 which led to further tightening of the rape law by the making of certain amendments – known as the Nirbhaya Act. A brief description of the event: “The incident took place on 14 September 2020, when the victim, a 19-year-old Dalit woman went to a farm to collect cattle fodder. Four men – Sandip, Ramu, Lavkush and Ravi – allegedly dragged her away by dupatta around her neck injuring her spinal cord in the process. The four upper caste men accused … allegedly belong to the Thakur caste. The violence left her paralyzed with a severe spinal cord injury [and her] tongue cut off. The perpetrators had tried to strangulate the girl as she resisted …. She ended up biting her tongue while being strangled. Her cries were heard by her mother, who came to the spot to find her lying down in the farm. She was at first taken to the Chand Pa police station, where the police rejected her claims and, [per] the family, humiliated them. The police registered a complaint only on [20-09-2020]. The police were able to record the victim's statement on [22-09-2020]. In her three recorded statements she mentioned that "she was raped" and was strangulated when she attempted to resist. The victim was initially admitted to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Aligarh on 14 September, with her spinal cord severely damaged; … later shifted to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi after her condition worsened. According to the police, the victim had been strangled with her dupatta. She died on 29 September 2020.” Now comes the more terrific part: “The victim was cremated on the night at about 2:30 am on 29-09-2020 by [U.P.] Police without the consent or knowledge of the victim's family. The brother of the victim alleged that it was done without family's consent and … they were locked up in their house; …also … that petrol was used for cremation. [But the police version is that] … the family's consent was taken. / The forced cremation led the Allahabad High Court to take suo moto cognizance. … The bench [said], "The incidents which took place after the death of the victim on 29.09.2020 leading up to her cremation, as alleged, have shocked our conscience" [Wikipedia]” {The Allahabad HC decision is reproduced in this issue}. All this is quite heartrending; and very unusual that the police forcibly cremate a victim, that too in the night time, against the will/customs of the family. Such police excesses, perhaps under political compulsions, severely shake people’s confidence in democracy and rule of law, and must be dealt with strictly by the constitutional courts. 