Justice delayed, justice denied: Rahul slams BJP over treatment of Hathras rape victim’s family

New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) Asserting that justice delayed is justice denied, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the promises made by the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh to the family of the Hathras gangrape victim have not been fulfilled till date.

Gandhi also shared a video of his meeting with the victim’s family in Hathras last week.

“Justice delayed is justice denied! But something else is happening in Hathras where the accused are roaming free and the victim’s family is held hostage,” the former Congress chief said in his post on YouTube along with the video.

On September 14, 2020, the 19-year-old Dalit woman was brutally gang-raped by four upper caste men in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh and two weeks later, on September 28, 2020, the woman died in a hospital in New Delhi, he said.

“At 2.30 am the same night, without the consent of the woman’s family, the Uttar Pradesh police forcefully cremated her body. After a long phase of destroying evidence and misleading the judiciary, today four years later, the accused are roaming free in the same village and the victim’s family is held hostage, still waiting for justice,” Gandhi alleged.

The promises made to them by the BJP government of Uttar Pradesh have not been fulfilled till date, he claimed.

Neither have they been given a government job nor has the promise of shifting them to another place been fulfilled, Gandhi said.

“In this labyrinth of casteism and power, it has become impossible for Dalits to even hope for justice,” he said.

The INDIA bloc, which respects the Constitution, vows that it will protect the Bahujans from these oppressors who follow the path of Manusmriti, Gandhi said.

“We will get all the promises fulfilled, we will get them justice,” he said.

In a post on X, Gandhi said, “Listen carefully and feel every word filled with despair of the family of Hathras rape victim. They are still in fear. Their situation confirms that it has become extremely difficult for Dalits to get justice.”

“We are with this family – we will relocate their house and provide all necessary assistance,” he said.

He also shared the video on Facebook.

“The family of Hathras victim was promised by UP’s BJP government that a government job – which was not given. Fast track court – justice still pending. And safe relocation – house arrest. We will get justice for the victim’s family – we, INDIA bloc, who believe in the Constitution, will make arrangements for their freedom and relocation,” Gandhi said.

In the video, Gandhi hears the victims family who state that they have been denied justice and were not being allowed to go out of the house.

The victim’s family also claimed that they had neither been given any job nor any arrangements made for relocation.

Gandhi on December 12 had met the family of the Dalit woman in Hathras who died after being allegedly gangraped in September 2020, and alleged that the family is being treated like “criminals”.

The family had reached out to Gandhi earlier this year, seeking his support in getting “justice”, according to the Congress which shared a letter addressed to the LoP by the woman’s father.

Gandhi spent around 35 minutes with the family at their home and interacted with them. He left without speaking to a waiting group of reporters who had gathered in the village for his visit.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had met the Hathras family on October 3, 2020 and declared they will fight for ensuring justice to the deceased.

The 19-year-old woman was allegedly gangraped on September 14, 2020. She was moved to Aligarh for treatment and later to Delhi, where she died on September 29, 2020.

She was cremated in the early hours of October 30, with her family alleging the local police had forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night. Local police officers, however, had told PTI that the cremation was carried out “as per the wishes of the family”.

After an initial police probe in the matter, the CBI had taken over the investigation into the case and filed a charge sheet against all four accused.