A case of alleged gang-rape and murder in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras has triggered nation-wide condemnation. Both the incident itself and the local administration's subsequent acts, such as cremating the victim in the dead of the night and later, barring entry into the village for some time has led to increasing outrage. As the clamour for justice grows, the Uttar Pradesh government had recently recommended a CBI probe into the case.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court sat down to hear a writ petition that sought a CBI or SIT probe headed by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge. As per an ANI update, the Uttar Pradesh government has filed an affidavit before the apex court stating that it must direct a CBI investigation monitored by the SC. Calling it a "vicious campaign" to defame the Yogi Adityanath led government, the affidavit alleges that vested interests are attempting to ascribe motive to derail a fair probe.
The affidavit had also justified the pre-dawn cremation of the victim stating that the district administration had convinced the parents of deceased to cremate her at night to avoid large scale violence in the morning. The affidavit cites intelligence inputs of possible assembly of lakhs of protesters and the issue being given a caste or communal tint.
According to an NDTV report, the government has also justified the cremation stating that there had been a high alert in the region owing to the upcoming Babri Masjid demolition case verdict. As the UP government told the apex court, the two factors had prompted the local administration to "convince the parents of the deceased to cremate her with all religious rites at night".
