Amidst the alleged reports of intimidation and harassment by the Uttar Pradesh Police, Shiv Sena Member of the Parliament (MP) Priyanka Chaturvedi, in a letter to the President of India Ram Nath Kovind, has urged the government to provide immediate Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) security cover to the Hathras gangrape victim’s family.
Chaturvedi said a young 19 years old woman, hailing from the Valmiki community, was denied the promise of the Constitution of India of equality before the law and equal protection of the law in both life and death. The victim faced many indignities in not receiving prompt medical treatment, in the failure of the police to register her complaint on time, and in the forcible midnight cremation against all the constitutional values, she added.
“Now, her family, which is being held in captivity and threatened by officials in Hathras, is being denied their free speech and movement. The family has also expressed their distrust towards the UP Police in carrying out a free and fair investigation. In that backdrop, I urge you to provide CRPF security cover to the victim’s family and ensure their safety,’’ said Chaturvedi in her letter.
Chaturvedi argued that, in humanity’s history, people are accorded the dignity of a decent cremation and family members are given a chance to bid adieu to their beloved. “But on September 30, the nation saw a grief stricken and sobbing family of the deceased being denied of a decent cremation as per Hindu rites and the body was burned in the middle of the night. I was reminded of a time when, in this country, a person was relegated by oppressors through the unscientific and inhuman caste system,” she said.
The Shiv Sena MP said there has been the abdication of responsibility of the process by the UP Police, which has shaken and shamed all.
Chaturvedi’s letter comes a day after the party MP Sanjay Raut took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that’s why he was quiet on the Hathras case. He further said the Yogi Adityanath government should not hide anything in the rape case.
