LUCKNOW: Father of the Hathras gangrape victim has demanded a CBI probe into the incident.
His 19-year-old girl, who was allegedly gang-raped by four youths, later succumbed to her injuries at a Delhi hospital on September 29. Police cremated her body on the wee hours of Wednesday against the wishes of the family.
Meanwhile, the Dalit victim’s village -- Boolgarhi – has been turned into a fort with a tight security cordon laid around 1.5 km of the village periphery. Even the media is not allowed to enter the village.
A video clipping, shared by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on twitter, showed the victim’s father claiming that three members of his family were “pressured” by the district magistrate and police officials at the PWD guest house to sign some documents.
He is shown guided by someone to say he is not satisfied by the probe going on and that he wants his daughter’s case to be probe by the “CBI or a Supreme Court judge.”
The victim’s father is shown been advised by someone to talk about the confinement of the family at their home by police who are not letting them meet media persons.
However, the victim’s cousin, who managed to come on camera hiding from the police, alleged that the cops took away their mobile phones and stopped them from interacting with media. He also charged the DM with intimidating his uncle.
Meanwhile, Sub Judicial Magistrate (SDM) Prem Prakash denied the charges of intimidation and confinement of the victim’s family by the administration. Over the restriction on entry into the village, he said it was being done as the SIT probe was underway and entry of media or political activists could hamper the investigation process.
Meanwhile, people from upper castes of Boolgarhi and adjoining villages came in support of the accused. “They have sought a fair probe into the incident. If the complicity of the boys is proven, they should be given the strictest punishment, hanged, or even shot. But such politicking should be avoided over the issue,” said local sources close to the families of the accused.