But it is deliberately doing otherwise
Ubaidullah Nasir
Finally the CBI has taken over the Hathras gang rape case and has filed its own FIR on gang rape and murder under relevant sections including SC/ST act. It took one week for implementation of government announcement of CBI probe and issuing the notification which shows UP government’s non seriousness in the issue. The UP government unwillingly handed over the case to CBI after public outrage over the gang rape and murder of a 19 year old Dalit girl in Hathras district, her hurried cremation in dead of night without the willingness of her parents and other relatives. UP police handling of the case which from day one has been pro culprits and anti victim . According to CBI sources the case will be investigated by Ghaziabad unit of the agency and a team under a lady officer has been constituted and it has started probe. Primarly he CBI FIR is the reproduction of UP police FIR and mentions only one accused but the agency officers have assured that with the progress in probe more arrests will be made. Unfortunately UP government adopted all possible tricks to divert the public outrage over its mishandling of the case and its efforts to somehow save the culprits as it did in the cases of Unnao where a BJP legislator Kuldip Sengar was involved in rape and murder not only of the girl but of her entire family and swami Chinmayanad an ex union minister and a BJP stalwart. Though the culprits of Hathras don’t have that political and social status as of Swami Chinmayanad and Kuldip Sengar but may be local toughs and BJP workers however the buzz is that since they belong to upper caste Thakur which is the caste of CM yogi Adityanath also and the SP who was instrumental in saving Kuldip Sengar as Unnao police head was Hathras police chief when this incident took place and after public outcry opposition and media pressure he was transferred with other officers and local thana staff. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath blamed opposition of trying to disturb the social harmony and start caste war in the state as if it was not enough he brought another angle that this public outrage over Hathras issue is the part of an international conspiracy mainly by Muslim countries they have transferred Rs. 100 Crore through Mauritius route to a so called Muslim organization People’s front of India (PFI) which with the help of Bhim army an emerging dalit orgnisation was conspiring to start caste and communal riot in the state. Yogi ji did not realized the damage his laughable allegation is doing to the country.Already relations between many Muslim countries with India soured due to CAA and Delhi riots such silly allegations have only added fuel to the fire. UP police arrested 4 men on their way to Hathras and claimed to procure some dubious documents which hints the conspiracy but three of them were journalists and one was their driver and they were going Hathras to report the case one of them Siddiq Mukappam is from a Kerala based web portal posted in Delhi as its bureau chief and two others are too from web portals Siddiq is the general secretary of Kerala working Journalists union. The allegation of foreign funding was probed by Enforcement directorate which after two or three days declared that it has found no such transaction and the allegations are not correct. Here the Chief Minister should have shown the magnamity and should have publically accepted that he was wrong in accusing these organisations but after one allegation did’nt worked another was ready this time more cruel and laughable. Now it is very forcibly spread that it is the case of honour killing and the girl’s parents and other relatives killed her after they saw him in relation with the accused boys.
It is abundantly clear that Yogi government is less interested in giving justice to victim’s family which was even denied a respectable religious last rites and is more interested in blame game and putting one after other conspiracy theory. On one hand Yogi ji spoke of an international conspiracy and on those who want to incite caste and communal riots and on other his obedient police force has registered not one two or three but 21 FIRs against BJP’s political opponents and others who have protested in the waked of Hathras tragedy or have tried to lend a shoulder to the victim’s family they includes leaders and workers of Congress SP Bhim army and RLD. The Hathras protest is being criminalized just as anti CAA protest was criminalized this shows that the Yogi government has little trust confidence on constitutional freedom including right to protest. It is not ready to answer the most burning question why do crime and impunity has caste and communal colour why culprits of Balrampur are immediately booked under NSA but efforts are being made to save culprits of Hathras?Why police response had communal and caste biases ?
The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court has called parents and family members of victim to hear them. CBI too has taken over the probe and we must hope that justice will be done to this family but the way Yogi government has been acting so far and the way the victim family is being threatened by upper caste BJP activists and Hathras administration life for them is difficult to return to normalcy. It is incumbent upon Yogi government to create an atmosphere of trust and togetherness in that village so that both families and people of all castes and communities live there as usual.