A day after being exonerated by a special court in Uttar Pradesh, three out of four accused in the rape and murder case of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras were released from the Aligarh district jail on Friday.
Accused Ramu, Lavkush and Ravi were acquitted by the court and released from jail. While the accused Sandeep was found guilty of crimes against the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act) and culpable homicide that did not amount to murder.
“There were four accused, three have been released. Sandeep has been imprisoned for life. The rest three have been released this morning at eight o’clock,” Jailor PK Singh said.He said that they were acquitted by the court yesterday but sought a one-day delay in their release citing security reasons.
A 19-year-old girl succumbed to her injuries at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on September 29, 2020, after being assaulted and allegedly gang-raped in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras on September 14, 2020. Her body was cremated by the Uttar Pradesh Police and the administration allegedly without the consent or the presence of the victim’s family.