Hathras (Uttar Pradesh): Last rites of Hathras gang-rape victim were performed at her native place in the wee hours of Wednesday, Prem Prakash Meena, Hathras Joint Magistrate told ANI.
"We have talked to the victim's family members. The last rites of the victim have been performed keeping in view of peace situation here. Four accused have already been arrested. Police and administration will ensure that the perpetrators of the crime are brought to justice," he said.
"Financial assistance has been provided to her family," he added.
Meanwhile, the victim's family said that the police had forcibly performed the last rites late at night even though they wanted to bring her body home one last time, reported Indian Express.
“It appears that my sister has been cremated; the police are not telling us anything. We begged them to let us bring her body inside the house one last time, but they didn’t listen to us,” the victim’s brother said.
“The ambulance is on the main road; police are not letting us take the body inside the house. They have switched on the lights of the cremation ground and are forcing us to perform her last rites right now. We don’t want to cremate her in the middle of the night; we want to take her home," one of the victim’s brothers said at 1 am. The last rites were performed around 3 am.
The police, meanwhile, said that the cremation of the victim was carried out by the family members. Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikrant Veer also denied any “urgency” in the cremation, reported Hindustan Times. Veer also claimed that the situation in the village is calm, but heavy police force has been deployed.
The 19-year-old girl died in Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday, after she was gang-raped in Hathras a fortnight ago. The victim was brought to Safdarjung Hospital on Monday from Aligarh Muslim University Medical College.
The Hathras district administration on Tuesday said a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs will be provided to the victim's family. "The state government has already provided compensation of Rs 4.12 lakhs to the family," the district magistrate tweeted.
(With ANI inputs)
