Five policemen, including the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, were suspended on Friday, 2 October, after the brutal gang-rape and murder of a Dalit woman that has sparked massive outrage across the country.
The UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s office also informed that all parties in the case – accused, victim’s family and the suspended police offers will have to undergo a polygraph and narco tests.
The suspension comes as the Yogi government is facing massive backlash over the handling of the case since the girl’s body was ‘forcibly cremated’ by the police officials allegedly without the family’s consent in the middle of the night on Wednesday, 30 September.
Shamli SP Vineet Jaiswal was appointed as the new Hathras SP by Yogi Adityanath. Jaiswal is likely to take charge on Saturday.
What Good Would Suspending Some Pawns Do? Priyanka Gandhi
Tweeting about the suspension, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Friday, asked what good would suspending a few police officers do and demanded Yogi’s resignation.
“What will happen if you suspend some pawns? On whose order did the victim of Hathras, her family suffer grief? The phone records of Hathras DM, SP should be made public. The Chief Minister should not try to deflect his responsibility. The country is watching. Yogi Adityanath must resign.”Priyanka Gandhi, Congress Leader
The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Thursday, 1 October, took suo motu cognisance of Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras incident, where a 19-year-old Dalit woman died after being allegedly gang-raped by four men.
The court had sought response from top UP officials, including Director General of Police, ADG Law & Order, Hathras DM PK Laxkar, among others by 12 October.
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