Five senior police officers suspended over alleged gang rape of young Dalit woman in India

The chief minister of India’s northern Uttar Pradesh state announced the suspensions, as around 500 people gathered in New Delhi in the latest protest, demanding justice.

Five senior police officers have been suspended over their handling of an investigation into the alleged gang rape and murder of a young woman that has sparked outrage across India and triggered days of protests.

The 19-year-old victim from the marginsalised Dalit caste was found seriously injured in mid-September outside her village in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state and died this week in a New Delhi hospital.

But the police have faced criticism, accused of cremating the woman’s body in the middle of the night against the wishes of her family and religious custom.

A senior policeman sparked further outrage after claiming on Thursday that a forensic report and an autopsy had shown that the woman had not been raped.

This contradicts statements from the victim and her mother and reported hospital findings, while experts said the forensic test was carried out too long after the alleged attack.

Indian activists from various organiations protest against the alleged gang rape of a young Dalit girl in Uttar Pradesh state, in New Delhi on 2 October.

EPA

Hundreds of police have also barricaded the village, preventing the woman’s family from leaving and journalists and opposition politicians from talking to them.

The family’s mobile phones have also reportedly been seized.

The victim’s brother told one Indian news channel that the family were scared for their lives. The local high court has ordered authorities to provide the family protection.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced the suspension of the Hathras district police chief and four others late on Friday.

The Hindu monk and close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced that the victim’s family, the accused and the suspended policemen would all undergo lie-detector and drug tests.

In the latest protest on Friday evening, around 500 people- including the capital’s chief minister and a prominent Dalit politician – gathered in central New Delhi demanding justice.

“We (women) are not actually free, even though India is independent,” Sanskriti, one of the women at the Delhi protest site told AFP.

“This is something I want to raise my voice against. And I just wish all the people get united and they understand that it is high time to do something about it,” she said.

The young woman’s death comes months after four men were hanged for the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a student on a bus in New Delhi, in a case that came to symbolise India’s epidemic of sexual violence.

An average of 87 rapes were reported in India every day last year, according to data by the National Crime Records Bureau, but large numbers are thought to go unreported.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. SOURCE AFP – SBS