NEW DELHI, Oct 3 (NNN-UNI) – Hundreds of people last night, gathered at Jantar Mantar, in the heart of Indian capital city, New Delhi, to protest against the gang rape and murder of a young Dalit woman in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The protesters, including civil society activists, women, students and members of various political parties gathered to demand justice for the victim’s family.
The young woman was attacked on Sept 14, in a field near her home in Hathras district, about 100 km from India’s national capital, New Delhi. She died on Tuesday, in a hospital in New Delhi, and was cremated in the early hours of Wednesday, with family alleging that local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night against their wishes.
The incident triggered an outrage.
Dalits were previously known as untouchables in India, and fall at the bottom of India’s Hindu caste hierarchy.
The protest that was initially supposed to be held at the India Gate, was later shifted to the Jantar Mantar, owing to the prohibitory orders in place in the Rajpath area.
The protesters are calling for the resignation of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, over the issue.
“The Uttar Pradesh government has no right to stay in power. Our demand is that justice should be served,” said Communist Party of India general secretary, Sitaram Yechury.
Congress leader, Priyanka Gandhi, attended a prayer meet at the Maharishi Valmiki temple in Delhi, in memory of the victim. On Thursday, she and her brother, Rahul Gandhi, were detained by police and prevented from meeting the victim’s family.
Earlier, in the day a delegation of Trinamool Congress lawmakers, led by Derek O’Brien, was stopped by police from meeting the bereaved family in Hathras.
Sexual attacks on women and girls in India put a question mark on their safety.
In Dec, 2012, a fatal gang rape of a medical student in New Delhi brought spotlight on crimes against women in India.
The incident saw huge protests and resulted in new anti-rape laws in the country. However, brutal sexual attacks against women and girls continue to be reported across India.– NNN-UNI
