NEW DELHI: Anxiety, pain, anger and fighting for dignity - the past 48 hours have been topsy turvy for the family of the 19-year-old rape victim from Boolgarhi village in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh.
"Abhi jo hum chahte hai ki jitne bhi ye bade bade police officers hai inko suspend karay pehle number pe toh...kyunki inhone apne marzi se le jaake zabardasti body ko jala diya (All that we want at the moment is that the top police officials should be suspended from their duties because it is them who cremated the body of our sister on their own will and forcefully)," said Sanjeev, cousin brother of the victim.
The girl, a Dalit by caste, who was raped by four men in her village on September 14 was admitted at Aligarh Muslim University's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital after a week.
According to the JNMC hospital administration, the victim's health condition was fragile when admitted.
Her legs were paralysed with severe spinal cord injury, her neck damaged as the accused had dragged her wrapping her dupatta to a field near which she had been gathering cattle fodder.
She also has a deep cut on her tongue which she had bitten when strangulated.
The family had accused that the cops had burnt the body for cremation against their will.
"We now have a constant fear of our lives, we are being threatened by them (family of the accused) that once the matter is settled and no further protests are held, they will seek revenge on us, may physically hurt us... wo log Thakur hai, pura mamla jaati ke upar hi hai (They are Thakurs, upper caste....the whole matter is revolved around caste here)," he claimed.
Sanjeev said that the father of the victim was also forcefully taken away by the UP police late Wednesday evening for a meeting with the state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
"Police kya protection degi aage ka, wo to khud aake maar rahe hai (what protection will the police provide to us in future, they are beating us up)," added the brother.
The Hathras district administration on Tuesday announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family which was announced by the district magistrate, shortly after she died in Delhi.
"What will we do with the cash money or house, our lives are going to change now...all that my sister's parents want is to hang the culprits who raped her...but honestly, we don't have much hope from anyone. Rather, we are going to face more threats to live," the brother noted.