The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet in the Hathras Case against the four accused on the basis of the final statement made by the victim on the 22nd of September. The 19-year old woman was allegedly gang-raped by the accused on the 14th of September.
Hathras: CBI files chargesheet in #Hathrascase at a special SC/ST court. CBI will take brother of Hathras case victim to Gujarat for a psychological assessment.
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 18, 2020
“CBI filed chargesheet against all 4 accused under various sections,” says Munna Singh Pundir, lawyer of accused pic.twitter.com/mVOmJ4KeAu
The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh had made way for a CBI probe into the matter after opposition party leaders and the media attempted to use the Hathras case to target the state administration. The senior leadership of the Congress party and organisations such as the Bhim Army and Islamist PFI attempted to politicise the matter for their own objectives.
The CBI, during the course of their investigation, met the doctors at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital where the victim received treatment following her alleged gang rape. One of the accused was also found to be a minor, based on the school marksheet.
The victim died on the 29th of September at the Safdurjung hospital in Delhi. The initial medical report showed no signs of rape and the victim’s brother had made no mention of rape in the complaint that was registered on the 14th of September. It was on the September 22 when the Police recorded the statement of the victim that the rape allegations first surfaced.
The CBI report has been filed at a special SC/ST Court and has been filed under the SC ST Atrocities Act. IPC Section 376 D, which pertains to rape; Section 302, which pertains to murder; and Sections 354 and 376 have also been invoked.
