A massive outrage against the immolation of a young gang rape victim and the related police inaction manifested itself in widespread violence and arson in Hathras district of west UP on Tuesday.
The people furious over police inertia staged violent protests on the roads along with the victim's dead body. The irate mob fought pitched battles with the police, and burnt and damaged several buses, trucks and other vehicles.
The agitators were angered by the fact that while the perpetrators of the heinous crime, who allegedly include ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) leaders, roamed free, the police and district administration were busy converting the tragedy of the girl being set on fire by the rapists into one of self-immolation.
The 22-year-old girl had been abducted by the four criminals from Jaswant Nagar on Saturday, repeatedly gang raped and finally set on fire on Monday. Jaswant Nagar is a constituency represented by none else but SP chief Mulayam Singh's brother Shivpal Yadav, one of the most powerful ministers in the Akhilesh Yadav cabinet. Also, it falls is Etawah, the CM's home district.
Sources here say local police and district authorities showed utmost callosity in dealing with the case. "The girl gave her dying statement to several media channels. We kept calling up the SDM to come and record her statement but he continued to stall for almost an hour while the girl was writhing in pain in her dying moments," a TV channel reporter told dna.
"They sprinkled kerosene on her and set her on fire after raping her repeatedly," the victim's father, wailing beyond control, told reporters. He further revealed that he somehow doused the fire and rushed her to the district hospital, where doctors said that his daughter had 90% burns and chances of her survival were minimal.
"I myself voted for SP in the Lok Sabha election and now we are being traumatized by SP workers," the grieving father said.
A family member of the girl said that police was trying to protect the two accused who were Samajwadi party 'part-timers'. "They called me up and asked us to settle the issue. They threatened us that the family would face dire consequences if we didn't obey them," he said.
The sources confirmed that the Mahila Police Station in-charge also went to the hospital to record the victim's statement in which the girl disclosed the names of the accused. However, the police didn't seem in any hurry to arrest the accused.
The Superintendent of Police (SP) Deepika Tiwari, said that the police had to open fire for self defence but no one was injured. She also said that two of the rape accused had been arrested while two others were absconding.
"The woman committed suicide and her mother has given in writing about the incident," she told reporters. "The situation is tense but under control," she added.
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