Lucknow: A Special Court framed charges against the four accused involved in the gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh on September 14, 2020.
Accepting the CBI charge-sheet, the Special Court (SC-ST Act) framed gangrape and murder charges against the four accused Sandeep, Ravi, Ramu and Lavkush after conclusion of hearing from both sides.
During the hearing, the CBI investigating officer Seema Pahuja, all the four accused and family members of the deceased girl were present in the Special Court. The accused were brought from Aligarh Jail under tight security. The court has fixed March 2 as the next date for hearing the case.
On September 14, 2020, a Dalit girl was gang-raped under Chandapa Police Station in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh. The girl was admitted to a district hospital in critical condition. When her condition deteriorated further, she was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where she died after battling for life for two weeks. All the four accused were arrested before her death.
The gangrape and murder had raised a nationwide public outcry and protest. What made the matter worse was the hurried cremation of the body of the deceased girl by the Hathras Police against the consent of family members. When opposition leaders mounted pressure, the Yogi Adityanath government had transferred the case to the CBI.
After investigating the case, the CBI filed a charge-sheet in 67 days against the four accused in the Special Court under Sections 376, 376A, 376D, 302 of the IPC and Section 3(2)(5) of the SC-ST Act.
The Special Court has already rejected bail applications of the three accused Ravi, Ramu and Lavkush. The fourth accused Sandeep is yet to apply for bail. After framing of charges, all the four accused were sent back to Aligarh jail.
