Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the UP government over the handling of the Hathras rape incident as she said Aditynath had “no moral right” to continue in office.
Zafar Aafaq | Clarion India
NEW DELHI — The night cremation of the Hathras gang rape victim by the Uttar Pradesh police allegedly in forced absence of her parents has triggered a nationwide outrage with people demanding resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath even as his government has constituted a special investigation team to probe the heinous crime.
Last night, the body of the victim was taken by the police from a Delhi hospital to a funeral ground in her village in Hathras and cremated at around 2:30 am without handing it over to the family members who were allegedly locked up in their homes. The police prevented the villagers from coming towards the crematorium.
The conduct of the UP police has been widely condemned. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the UP government over the handling of the Hathras rape incident as she said Aditynath had “no moral right” to continue in office.
Gandhi put out a series of tweets which said: “I was on the phone with the Hathras victim’s father when he was informed that his daughter had passed away. I heard him cry out in despair,” He had just been telling me that all he wanted was justice for his child. Last night, he was robbed of the chance to take his daughter home for the last time and perform her last rites….Instead of protecting the victim and her family, your government became complicit in depriving her of every single human right, even in death. You have no moral right to continue as Chief Minister.”
Ajay Bisht & his cops burnt the body of #HathrasCase victim without handing it to the family though they begged them to do so
Can you imagine this happening to ur daughter?@narendramodi do u have any shame left? Why are u not speaking?#YogiMustResignpic.twitter.com/PicOR09Drb
— Srivatsa (@srivatsayb) September 30, 2020
A hashtag ‘Yogi must resign’ was trending on Twitter on Wednesday morning as many said the Hathras victim was not cremated but “burnt” by cops.
What democracy destroys the bodies of rape victims? This is #YogiAdityanath‘s #Raperaj. The violent end of the #Hathra #Dalit rape victim included thel UP police CREMATING her body against the families wishes to cover up the evidence. #Shame #YogiMustResign #Endcasteapartheid
— Dalit Diva (@dalitdiva) September 30, 2020
Spokesperson Aam Aadmi Party Sanjeev Jha wrote a tweet repeating the words ‘Yogi Must Resign’.
Yogi Must Resign
Yogi Must Resign
Yogi Must Resign
Yogi Must Resign
Yogi Must Resign
Yogi Must Resign
Yogi Must Resign
Yogi Must Resign
Yogi Must Resign
Yogi Must Resign
Yogi Must Resign
Yogi Must Resign
Yogi Must Resign #YogiMustResign https://t.co/iLPeFRz64C— Sanjeev Jha (@Sanjeev_aap) September 30, 2020
The Hathras incident has also brought the spike in crimes against women in Uttar Pradesh under spotlight as people said that this shows failure of the government and the police to control crime.
Is this not a good enough reason to force the UP CM Yogi Adityanath to RESIGN?! These statistics are of those crimes that are ‘reported’. Think about those which are unreported, and those that the police helped conceal.#YogiMustResign pic.twitter.com/qyBYbUsKID
— Arya (@RantingDosa) September 30, 2020
Under pressure, the Chief Minister announced a Special Investigation Team to probe the rape incident.
The SIT, according to official sources, will comprise home secretary Bhagwan Swaroop, DIG Chandra Prakash and IPS officer Poonam.
Even a ‘loathsome’ gangster was extended the basic dignity of being cremated in presence of his family members. Why did #Hathras victim’s parents have to face such mistreatment? What is this if not PATENT caste & class discrimination? https://t.co/WKbqQFLdJG
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) September 30, 2020
People also pointed out that the backward Dalit caste of the victim to explain why she became an easy prey of the rapists who belong to upper caste and why police chose to cremate her while keeping the family locked.
In India, if you are a Dalit woman upper-caste men can rape and kill you, police can lock up your family and burn your body at night. This is the Hindutva version of Ram Rajya! #Hathras https://t.co/d2uC9iOvaf via @ndtv
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) September 30, 2020
Meanwhile, chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Swati Maliwal has appealed to the Supreme Court to take cognizance of the matter of the Hathras rape incident. She demanded “a High Court-monitored investigation and trial to ensure strictest and swiftest possible punishment to the accused in the crime”.
While offering possible assistance, Maliwal requested immediate suspension and punitive action against all erring police and administrative officials, including the senior most officials who tried to cover up the incident.
Bollywood celebrities also joined in to express their anger over the rape incident on Tuesday. Several B-Town celebrities condemned the incident, urging for the implementation of stricter laws in the country.
