“Is it a crime to be a girl? Is it an offence to be a poor man’s daughter?” asked Congress President Sonia Gandhi, in a video shared by her party’s official Twitter handle on Wednesday.
The body of the 19-year-old Dalit woman who was raped and murdered, allegedly by four upper caste men in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, was allegedly ‘forcibly cremated’ by the Uttar Pradesh Police in the wee hours of Wednesday, 30 September.
Condemning the Uttar Pradesh administration’s treatment of the case, Sonia Gandhi said that there were attempts to brush the entire incident under the carpet.
She further went on to say: “Today we have lost a daughter.”
“I want to say the Nirbhaya of Hatharas hasn’t died. She has been killed — By a ruthless government, by its administration, by the neglect of the Uttar Pradesh government.”
Gandhi lamented the fact that the victim’s mother was not allowed to bid her daughter a final goodbye, as UP Police reportedly cremated the victim in the wee hours of Wednesday, even as the grieving family requested them to allow them to take her body home for one last time.
“I, on behalf of the Congress Party, am asking for justice for the grieving family from Hathras,” said Gandhi.
“The Constitution of India has granted a right to everybody to live a life of dignity. We will not let BJP dismantle the Constitution and the country.”Congress President Sonia Gandhi
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)