My Father Saw The News And Started Crying: Hathras Deceased's Brother On CBI Chargesheet

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed a changesheet against the four accused in the Hanthras case. All four accused in the case, Sandeep, Lavkush, Ravi, and Ramu have been charged with gangrape and murder by the CBI, their lawyer confirmed. "My father saw the news on TV and started crying,” said the 19-year-old deceased Dalit woman's elder brother who is 28 years old. The chargesheet was submitted at the Hathras District Court on basis of the deceased woman’s statement made on September 22.

After the changesheet was filed, the family of the late survivor from Hathras broke into tears and one of her brothers, who is 20, said, “Since the incident, our neighbours, the villagers and even the District Magistrate (DM) have been against us. They accused me of killing my own sister, called this a case of honour killing… We hope the authorities punish the accused soon.”

The CBI has booked the four accused under Sections 302(Murder), SC-ST Act (3,2,5), 376 (Rape), 376D (Gangrape), 354 (Assault on women to outrage the modesty of women) of the IPC.

'This is not going to bring our girl back'

The 28-year-old brother of the Dalit woman, however, feels that the fight for justice is far from over. "This is not going to bring our girl back we know but this is a step closer. We shall not find happiness but at least we saw the case coming to a justified conclusion," he told India Today.

Speaking to The Indian Express, her brother said, “We had to fight a lot. The administration did not trust us and portrayed that we were lying, but the truth doesn’t remain hidden for long. Today there is some hope."

He added, "It is now up to the courts to deliver final justice. We will wait for the judgment which will prove once and for all the truth in this."

Also Read: Delhi, Hathras And Now Balrampur: India Continues To Be In Denial Of It’s Rape Culture

A 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly gangraped by four upper-caste men on September 14, and died while undergoing treatment at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on September 29. Following her death, Uttar Pradesh police had “forcibly” cremated her body, her family alleged, on September 30, which led to an outrage on social media. The CBI on October 11 registered a case and started its investigation. UP police officers, however, said that the cremation was carried out “as per the wishes of the family”.

Later, the main accused Sandeep wrote to Hathras Superintendent of police (SP) Vineet Jaiswal from jail alleging that the deceased woman had been actually tortured by her mother and brother. You can read more about it here.

In latest, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday has announced that the next hearing in the case will be on January 27.

Feature Image Credit: PTI

Read More Stories By Ria Das