Hathras Case: 'Victim's Brother, Mother Killed Her, They Objected To Our Friendship,' Claims Main Accused In Letter To SP

Hathras Case: The letter, if it holds water, attempts to give the case an angle of honour-killing instead of the alleged gangrape and murder.

Police personnel stand guard near the premises of the relatives of the 19-year-old woman allegedly gang-raped and killed by four men in Bool Garhi of Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh state on October 3, 2020. - (Photo by Pawan SHARMA / AFP)

Hathras Case: In their first ever face up to the alleged gang rape and murder case, the four accused men who are under arrest have written to the Superintendent of Police seeking an unbiased investigation. The letter furthers the series of developments that have led to a twist in the case. The letter, if it holds water, attempts to give the case an angle of honour-killing instead of the alleged gangrape and murder. It claims that the accused and the girl were in a relationship, which however was not acceptable to her family members. It denies any sort of violence against the victim by the accused, but alleges her mother and brother of beating her up, after which she died. The letter which has been signed by all the four accused, has altered the narrative around the case. The UP Police had also made claims based on a call detail record (CDR) of the main accused and the Hathras victim’s kin, that the brother (whose name is also Sandeep) was in constant telephonic touch with the accused. However, the victim’s brother has flat out rejected the claims and said that he did not speak with the accused. The family of the victim  has stated that she was gangraped by  Sandeep (the accused) and his friends. The death of the 19-year-old Hathras girl who died after being allegedly gang-raped by upper-caste men, has triggered massive protests across nation and on social media as well. Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government sent two Additional Director General (ADG) and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police level special officers to Hathras district and Aligarh Range for seven days. The UP government took the decision to send these officers on Wednesday in view of the law and order situation arising out of the Hathras incident. On Wednesday, an FIR had been registered against four people with links to Popular Front of India (PFI) in Mathura who were "going to Hathras to disrupt peace as part of larger conspiracy". The FIR states that media reports have pointed out that some antisocial elements are plotting to harm social harmony by instigating caste factions using the pretext of the Hathras incident.