Hathras case: One accused found to be minor

In what is being seen as a major development, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which is probing the Hathras case in which a Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped and later died of injuries, has found that one of the four accused, is a minor according to his school records.

According to the state board exam mark sheet of the accused, he will turn 18 on 2 December 2020. The CBI team had visited the accused minor’s residence.

“They also took some of my elder son’s clothes along with the mark sheet. He is a minor,” said the mother of the accused.

The 19-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly gang-raped and brutally assaulted in her village in Hathras on 14 September after which she succumbed to her injuries on 29 September.

She suffered severe injuries to her spine. Her death triggered protests and outrage across the country after she was cremated in the middle of the night at the behest of some state officials.

The four accused in the Hathras alleged gang rape case has been lodged at the Aligarh jail. A CBI team questioned the four accused for over eight hours on Monday.

The mark sheet of the accused who is now found to be a minor, points towards the lapses by the Uttar Pradesh police which initially investigated the case but did not determine the age of the accused.