The family of a rape complainant who died after being set ablaze in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district last week buried her body on Sunday, NDTV reported.
Earlier in the day, the woman’s sister said the family would not lay her to rest until Chief Minister Adityanath visited them and promised to act against the accused. The district administration had offered to make arrangements for the family to travel to Lucknow to meet Adityanath but they rejected it and demanded that the chief minister visit their village.
The family changed its mind after being convinced by Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Mukesh Meshram and other senior police officers. The body was buried amid heavy police presence. The Provincial Armed Constabulary was also deployed, India Today reported. Samajwadi Party leaders, and UP Cabinet ministers Swami Prasad Maurya and Kamal Rani Varun were present, according to PTI.
The 23-year-old woman, who was set on fire by her alleged rapists, died in a Delhi hospital on Friday night. Two brothers in Unnao had allegedly raped her last year. She filed a case against them in March. One of the accused was on the run and the other, Shivam, was released on bail last week. The woman was on her way to a local court on Thursday for a hearing in her case when she was attacked by five men, including her alleged rapists. All five have been arrested.
“I personally want to speak to Yogi Adityanath,” the complainant’s sister said earlier on Sunday, according to PTI. She added that her sister was about to get a government job and demanded that the BJP government give it to a family member. She also demanded capital punishment for the accused. But when she was told that the courts would decide it, she said: “Who will make rounds of court?”
On Saturday, state ministers Kamal Rani Varun, Swami Prasad Maurya and Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj had gone to meet the family on Adityanath’s instructions. Maurya said the chief minister had announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 25 lakh. “The family will be given a house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana,” Maurya said. “Apart from this, whatever assistance is needed in future, it will be made available from time to time. The state government is very serious and sensitive towards the unfortunate incident.” Adityanath also said a fast-track court would hear the case.
The woman’s father said on Saturday: “All I want from the government and the authorities is that either they should be hanged or they should be shot dead, like what happened near Hyderabad. I am not greedy. I don’t want any house to be made. I don’t want anything else.”
He was referring to the police encounter that took place near Hyderabad in the early hours of Friday, in which four men accused of raping and killing a woman were shot dead, allegedly when they tried to escape from custody.
Opposition parties in the state have been mounting pressure on the state government over the incident. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra went to Unnao to meet the family. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said the state government should make special efforts to ensure justice to the woman’s family. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav protested against the death of the complainant outside the Vidhan Sabha in Uttar Pradesh. He called for the resignation of Adityanath, the state home secretary and the director general of police.
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