Hathras Case : Truth can’t be hidden from the family.

 

CBI submitted its charge sheet  in the Hathras case on friday. Her parents weren’t told a charge sheet was going to be filed. “We weren’t expecting much from the charge sheet, so we didn’t tell them. We wanted to know first what it would say. My father saw the news on TV and started crying,” said the 28-year-old Contradicting the police’s claim that the 19-year-old had not been sexually assaulted, the charge sheet says the four upper caste accused had gang raped the women on September 14 before leaving her for dead. Another brother said that Since the incident in  our neighbor’s, the villagers and even the District Magistrate (DM) have been against us. They accused me of killing my own sister, called this a case of honour killing. We hope the authorities punish the accused soon.

 

The elder brother said they felt relieved. “We had to fight a lot. The administration did not trust us and portrayed that we were lying, but the truth doesn’t remain hidden for long. Today there is some hope… This is our first step on the ladder of justice. It is now up to the courts to deliver final justice. We will wait for the judgment which will prove once and for all the truth in this. The teenager’s sister-in-law, who was close to her, said her children missed their aunt. “We want justice for her, and want the DM to resign. It was because of him that we couldn’t cremate her. In the government action that followed, several officers were suspended. The UP government kept its promise of Rs 25 lakh as compensation, but the family says life for them is far from normal, with neighbors blaming them for the “bad name” brought to the village and everyone keeping their distance from them. CRPF personnel continue to be deployed outside their house, albeit in lesser numbers. One of the brothers said they had got used to the security and excluded from the society.

The neighbor’s won’t speak to us because they are upper caste and support the accused. Why should we even expect them to support us? We just want justice for our sister,” he said. The elder brother said they expect the “harassment” to continue in “some small ways”. But the CBI charge sheet might prove a turning point. “The role of the local administration has been highlighted now and it is a matter of time before justice takes its course.”