UP CM Orders CBI Probe into Hathras Gang-rape and Murder Case as Calls for Justice Grow

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the case of brutal gang-rape and death of a Dalit woman in Hathras last month, his Office said in a tweet on Saturday.

The decision was taken after a high-level meeting of concerned officials. Earlier on Saturday, DGP HC Awasthi and Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Avanish Awasthi visited the family of the victim.

Adityanath said the probe should be done “into the complete Hathras case” — leading from the rape and murder to the subsequent midnight cremation of the victim by the police in the absence of her family members.

“For intensive investigation of the unfortunate incident of Hathras and all its connections, the case is being recommended to the CBI,” Adityanath said in a tweet in Hindi. “We are determined to give the harshest punishment to all those responsible for this incident.”

In response, the family members said they want a Supreme Court-monitored inquiry.

The announcement of the probe came even as pressure mounted on the state government, with the Congress, TMC, and several other political parties and social groups seeking the chief minister’s resignation and calling for justice. A rally organised at Jantar Mantar on Friday saw hundreds of attendees, including Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azaad, and calls were made for the resignation of Adityanath and an CBI or SIT probe into the matter.

The announcement came as Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi arrived in Hathras on Saturday evening to meet the family members of the 20-year-old woman whose rape, murder and forcible cremation has triggered widespread protests across India. Both Gandhi siblings called for justice after meeting the woman’s family.

They were earlier allowed by the UP government, along with three other leaders, to proceed to Hathras. This was the Gandhis’ second attempt to meet the bereaved family. Their first attempt on Thursday ended with a scuffle with the police and brief detention. Barricades were installed at the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) flyway, the route taken by the Gandhis, even as Section 144 of the CrPC remains in place in UP’s Gautam Buddh Nagar.