Facing All-Round Flak, UP Government Suspends Hathras SP And Four Other Cops

LUCKNOW || In a late night action, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday suspended the SP of Hathras where death of a Dalit girl, allegedly after injuries sustained during a sexual assault has triggered a national furore. Four other cops have also been suspended for what state government officials say was "mismanagement of the whole issue".

The action by the state government comes after the three-member special investigative team (SIT) formed to probe the whole matter parked itself in the village where the whole incident took place. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the investigating officers have also sought a narco test of the four accused in the case.

They have reportedly asked for lie detector test also of the family of the victim, which allegedly has been held captive by the district administration and the police. Media has bene kept at bay and no one has been allowed to visit the family. COVID protocol has been made the alibi for such stringent measures.

The 19-year-old woman was attacked on September 14 in a field near her home in Hathras. Her spine was fractured after an assault by the aggressors and after a few days of poor treatment at a medical facility she was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi where she succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday. Her tongue had also been slit by the assailants.

What added fuel to fire was the hasty cremation of her body by the police at around 2:30 with the family not even allowed to attend the cremation or the father allowed to lit the funeral pyre.

Opposition parties have since been baying for the blood of the state government. PM Narendra Modi also called up Adityanath on the incident.