Disclaimer: Visuals shared in this article can be disturbing for some. Viewer discretion advised.
The brutal gang-rape and death of a 19-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras has shaken the country to its very core. As outrage poured from across the nation against the horrific incident, something even more shocking happened last night.
According to NDTV, the body of the victim was forcibly cremated last night at 2.30 AM by UP policemen against the wishes of her family. Visuals of the family arguing with the cops, asking them for the body to be brought home one last time, for them to see the victim one last time, relatives throwing themselves on the hood of the ambulance carrying the body, and the mother weeping helplessly went viral online. The family was allegedly locked up in their homes.
#Hathras police taking the victim's body for cremation, after keeping her family out #HathrasCase
Read here: https://t.co/vTSAsp1xcz pic.twitter.com/Hbrlj2WnOf
— NDTV (@ndtv) September 30, 2020
“We wanted the last rites to be performed according to the Hindu traditions. Despite our protests, the cremation was performed. They took the body forcefully. We couldn’t see our daughter’s face for the last time,” the father of the victim says.
🔸Can you imagine this happening to your daughter?
🔸Body of the #Hathras gang rape victim has been burnt by the UP police against the family's wishes.
🔸Nothing more shameful or more terrible than this😢@priyankagandhi @RahulGandhi #YogiMustResign pic.twitter.com/7yuBZ6QYyY
— Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka) (@seethakkaMLA) September 30, 2020
Last night’s incident has left people enraged. Many took to the internet to express how the victim’s family has been denied the right to mourn and the victim has been denied the right to die with dignity.
#Hathras will forever remain a blemish on the fabric of this nation. Shame on all those who shield people who commit such crimes and all those who cover it up. To deny an already broken & grieving family their daughters last rites is barbaric. Humanity is dead.
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) September 30, 2020
The UP police cremated the body of the rape victim of Hathras at 2.,30 in the night without the permission or even the presence of the family . It leaves us with a question . What makes them confident that they will get away with this audacity . Who has given them this assurance
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) September 30, 2020
Even criminals are allowed dignified cremation. Here is a rape victim being cremated by police at 2:30 am without family members.
Could this happen if the family was not dalit?
This is a matter of national shame.
Our own George Floyd moment.#HathrasHorrorShocksIndia https://t.co/2nyzM2bQ3C— Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) September 30, 2020
The FIR was delayed, the hospitalisation was delayed, the sexual assault was denied then the family was barricaded while the police burnt her body at midnight. Wanting justice in this country is a joke #Hathras
— پربھا (@deepsealioness) September 30, 2020
So apparently the extent of the atrocity can go beyond what’s already unthinkable. The family’s deprived of a respectable farewell to their little girl. Easily one of the darkest moments we’ve witnessed as a country. #Hathras #JusticeForManishaValmiki
— Nimrat Kaur (@NimratOfficial) September 30, 2020
Disgusting. What happened here is disgusting. These men are disgusting and I hope they pay the heaviest price possible for taking away the right to mourn from thie family. If our authorities and leadership do not take action, we have ZERO right to call ourselves a democracy. https://t.co/B8RY5HwjgU
— Vir Das (@thevirdas) September 30, 2020
A 2.30 am cremation with the family kept out? What is left to say any more? सरकारें बदलती है ज़मीनी हक़ीक़त नहीं! सरकार की जवाबदेही होती है की परिवार को इंसाफ़ दे , इंसानियत दिखाए! Well done @TanushreePande and all the reporters for exposing this #HathrasHorror . https://t.co/aOrmRWfiG2
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 30, 2020
Angry & Frustrated!Such brutality in #Hathras gangrape.When will this stop?Our laws & their enforcement must be so strict that the mere thought of punishment makes rapists shudder with fear!Hang the culprits.Raise ur voice to safeguard daughters & sisters-its the least we can do
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) September 29, 2020
We are almost living at the edge of extinction yet women are still struggling for their fundamental rights to live.
Crazy how it’s been a whole human era, and yet, we are failing. #JusticeForManishaValmiki— uno (@bbgathome) September 30, 2020
They burned her body to destroy evidence.
They locked up her grieving family and didn't even let them take her home to grieve and give her a proper funeral.
Right to die with dignity was denied. A respectful funeral is so basic.#Hathras
— Arya (@RantingDosa) September 30, 2020
It sounds extreme but In such cases the families of the perpetrators should also be held accountable & shamed. Only then will families teach their sons to respect women.Right now the shame & the pain is only for the victim & her family.Cases go on forever & no one cares #Hathras
— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) September 30, 2020
Can’t imagine the outrage & grief #ManishaValmiki’s family must be feeling. I beseech @PMOIndia to intervene & make a solid example of the rapists by swift & sure justice for this unforgivable crime; something that strikes fear into the soul of any man who dares to think so again
— Tisca Chopra (@tiscatime) September 30, 2020
What a shameful act! Oh God! First barbaric gangrape and then denial of basic honourable cremation to her family. What justice does one even expect in such a horrible cruel situation? #Hathras
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) September 29, 2020
She deserves all due respect + justice and not midnight cremation.#Hathras https://t.co/SAO1jXrNec
— Arvind Gunasekar (@arvindgunasekar) September 29, 2020
This isn’t justice. This is the denial of dignity even after death.