CBI Finally Files Chargesheet Against Hathras Gangrape & Murder Accused; Hope For Justice?

CBI finally does the right thing by filing a chargesheet against the upper caste perpetrators of the Hathras gangrape and murder of a Dalit woman. What about the police? 

The gruesome gang rape that took place in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh has yet again made it to the headlines. The case was followed by a huge country-wide approach demanding justice for the victim.

A 20-year-old Dalit woman was gang raped and killed by 4 upper caste men in Hathras. The police and the administration were bent upon closing the case, and thus cremated the victim against the wishes of her family.

The CBI has filed its charge sheet in this case at the Hathras Court which is some 200 kms away from Delhi.

The bone chilling September incident

The Dalit woman was brutally gang raped by 4 upper caste men, mutilated, and was left to die. When she was finally taken to a hospital in Delhi, she passed away. The police and the state administration was bent to close the case as soon as possible and thus arranged for a cremation without the approval and the wishes of the family members.

Appeal by the accused

Despite the case being so simple and clear, the accused has still appealed to the court for ‘justice’, and alleged that they have been falsely accused in the case.

The police should also be seen as one of the accused in this case. When the force which has been deployed for the safety and security of the people becomes the instrument of the upper castes, justice eludes the ordinary citizens. To clean its own image, the police had said that it had cremated the girl as per the wishes of the family, but we have all seen images of the grieving parents being held in captivity circulating on the social media.

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Do we have justice ahead?

While the CBI’s charge sheet is a step towards justice and equality, the deliverance of justice is still incomplete. The family who suffered because of the unequal social conditions and patriarchy of the Indian society, still waits for justice. Although the CBI has filed its charge sheet, the court has given 27^th January as its date of hearing. How many hearings after this, no one knows.

What needs to be seen is that whether this case sets a precedent for deterring crimes in the future or gets lost among the various pending cases of crime and hostility. We are all aware of the condition of the fast-track courts put into place after the Delhi gangrape case and are also equally aware of the increasing acts of violence against women.

The question thus arises, whether this CBI charge sheet will get the victim her due share of justice?

Image source: YouTube

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