The Uttar Pradesh Police have alleged that the Dalit girl, who passed away days after she was gang-raped and brutally attacked in the state’s Hathras district, was not raped.
Citing a forensic science laboratory (FSL) report, Additional Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said the cause of her death is an injury on the neck and trauma resulting due to it.
“According to the postmortem report, the victim died due to the trauma of her neck injury. FSL report also clearly shows that sperm was not found in the collected samples. It suggests that some people twisted the matter to stir caste-based tension,” Kumar was quoted by ANI as having said.
Meanwhile, the postmortem report from Safdarjung hospital where she was shifted on September 28 – 14 days after the incident – came out the day after she died in the hospital.
The post-mortem report has revealed that she was strangulated and had also suffered severe injuries in her spine. The marks on the neck of the victim are consistent to attempted strangulation, the report says.
Hathras superintendent of police Vikrant Vir has said that the report by the Aligarh hospital, where she was admitted before she was brought to Safdarjung hospital does not confirm rape.
Vikrant Vir was quoted as saying, “The medical report from the Aligarh Muslim University Medical College mentions that there were injuries but it does not confirm forced sexual intercourse. They are waiting for a report of the forensics. As of now, doctors say that they’re not confirming rape.”
The girl, who was gang-raped and brutally attacked in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district on 14 September, passed away on 29 September in New Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital. Her body was cremated by the police near the hospital, allegedly without the consent of her family, which led to a rise in public outrage. The incident has triggerred nationwide protests.
The Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested four people over the incident. However, the victim’s family have said that the police had initially refused to take any action over the same.
