LUCKNOW: The family of the Hathras rape and murder victim welcomed the Supreme Court entrusting the monitoring of the CBI probe into the case to the Allahabad High Court.
“We have full faith in judiciary and the Supreme Court. Though we had demanded monitoring of the CBI probe by a sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court, but if the SC has decided that it should be done by the High Court, we hope that the best will happen to us and justice will be ensured,” said the victim’s brother told this newspaper.
The apex court made it clear that the CBI will file its status reports before the high court.
However, the family was a bit disappointed as the top court did not transfer the case out of Uttar Pradesh which they had been demanding right from the beginning.
“We will wait for the CBI probe to get over as the court has directed. Perhaps after the completion of the CBI probe into the case, the Supreme Court will attend to our demand of transferring the case out of UP,” said the victim’s sister-in-law.
Even after the CBI took over the probe into the rape and murder, the victim’s family had expressed the wish on October 16 to leave their village and relocate to Delhi with the help of the Uttar Pradesh government.
The victim’s brothers had even urged the authorities concerned to shift the gang rape-murder case to the national capital.
“The government should help us (shift base); we are dependent on them. We just want to be safe wherever we live,” one of the brothers had said.
The state government, which had already transferred the case to the CBI and had given consent to monitoring by the top court, had filed the affidavit after the top court sought details on witness protection.