NEW DELHI: After taking over the probe into rape and murder of 19-year-old Dalit girl at Boolgarhi village of Hathras district following the recommendation of Uttar Pradesh government, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case at its Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in Ghaziabad under relevant sections of the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989) on Sunday.
Following the state government’s recommendation on October 3 and subsequently notification issued by the Central government on late Saturday night, the CBI registered the case against main accused Sandeep son of Guddu of Boolgarhi village on the basis of a complaint no. 136/2020 registered by victim’s brother Satyendra at Chandpa police station in Hathras on September 14 immediately after the incident.
In the complaint the victim’s brother had claimed that claimed that the accused tried to kill his sister by strangulation in a millet filed on September 14.
As per the highly placed sources, the CBI registered the case under pertinent sections of IPC related to gangrape, attempt to murder and murder besides slapping relevant sections of SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act -1989.
After registering the case the premier probe agency started the investigation on Sunday.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (ACB, Ghaziabad) Seema Pahuja, has been named as the Investigating Officer (IO) for the case and the agency has constituted a team to conduct the probe.
Yogi Aditynath government had recommended the probe by country’s premier probe agency on October 3 following a nationwide outrage over the alleged rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl who was strangulated at Boolgarhi village in Hathras on September 14.
Having sustained severe neck and spine injuries, half of her body had paralysed and she succumbed to injuries at Delhi’s Safdurjung Hospital on September 29.
The victim in her dying declaration had named four persons—Sandeep, Ramkumar, Ravi and Luvkush – as her perpetrators who gang raped her while she, along with her mother, had gone to the field for taking fodder for the cattle on the fateful day.
So far the case had been probe by a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Yogi government on September 30 to inquire into the issue.
Initially, the SIT, head by principal secretary, home, Bhagwan Swaroop and also comprising DIG Chandraprakash and PAC commandant Poonam, had the mandate to probe into the role of the district police who was accused of cremating the body of the victim in a huff in the dead of night on September 29.
Primarily, the SIT was suppose to submit the report within a week’s time but later its ambit was expanded and it was also given an extension of 10 days to submit probe report.
However, working on the preliminary enquiry (PE) report of the SIT, the state government had suspended five cops of Hathras police administration including SP Vikrant Vir for poor handling of case.
In the mean time, the Allahabad High Court took suo motu cognizance of the incident through th media report and issued notices to the state government to clear the air over the case and the status of probe. The court wil be hearing the case on Monday (October 12).
Even the Supreme Court of India is also seized of the matter and has asked the state government to file affidavits in connection with the steps taken to ensure protection of witnesses in the case.
Meanwhile, the UP government had urged the Supreme Court, on last Tuesday, to order the CBI probe under its (apex court) monitoring.
The state government appealed the apex court during the hearing of a bunch of PILs in connection with the case.
The CBI team is likely to reach Hathras shortly and take over the proceeds of the case from the district police and the SIT.