(Trigger Warning: The following article contains descriptions of sexual assault, rape and murder. Reader discretion is advised. (This was first published on The Quint on 5 August. It has been republished after the filing of Delhi Police charge sheet, which stated that the main accused sexually assaulted the victim in the past as well.)
Every morning, Sarala (name changed) and her nine-year-old daughter Gudiya (name changed) went to the Old Nangal crematorium, right opposite their house, to help clean the place.
Sarala and her husband, ragpickers outside Peer Baba Mandir, would also help Radhey Shyam, the crematorium's priest, with daily errands. They had been doing that for almost half a decade since Gudiya was barely five years old.
On 1 August, the priest, along with a painter, a crematorium worker, and an unemployed man, were arrested for allegedly raping, murdering, and forcibly cremating Gudiya.
Shyam, along with the other accused – Kuldeep Kumar (63), Laxmi Narain (48), and Mohd Salim (49) – were arrested by the Delhi Police on the day of the incident.
Speaking to The Quint, Gudiya's mother said that her daughter had gone to get water from the crematorium when the four accused allegedly raped and murdered her.
"When she was almost lifeless, they set her on fire without my consent. I did not know what to do. The priest told me she was electrocuted and that he would cremate her for free. He said that if I went to police they would steal her body parts. I am left with nothing now," she said, adding that she wanted all accused, especially the priest, to be hanged to death.