Hathras case: This is what is wrong with the ‘no sperm, no rape’ line being pushed by UP Police
 

On 14 September 2020, a 19-year-old Dalit woman was gang-raped in Hathras district, state, India, allegedly by four upper caste men. After fighting for her life for 2 weeks, she died in Delhi hospital. The victim's brother claimed that no arrests were made within the first 10 days after the incident passed off. After her death, the victim was forcibly cremated by the police without the consent of her family, a claim denied by the police. The case and its subsequent handling has received widespread media attention and condemnation from across the country, and was the topic of protests against the Yogi Adityanath government by activists and opposition.

 

 The incident happened on 14 September 2020, when the victim, a 19-year-old Dalit woman visited a farm to gather cattle fodder. Four men — Sandip, Ramu, Lavkush and Ravi — allegedly dragged her away by dupatta around her neck injuring her spinal cord in the process. The four upper caste men accused of rape allegedly belong to the Thakur caste. The violence left her paralyzed with a severe spinal cord injury. The four men allegedly cut her tongue. The perpetrators had tried to strangulate the girl as she resisted their rape attempt. Her cries were heard by her mother who came to the spot to find her lying down in the farm. She was at first taken to the Chand Pa police station, where the police rejected her claims and, according to the family, humiliated them. The police registered a complaint only on 20 September.Police were ready to record the victim's statement on 22 September.

The victim was initially admitted to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Aligarh 15 days before her death, with her spinal cord severely damaged. She was later shifted to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi after her condition worsened. According to the police, the victim had been strangled with her dupatta. She died on 29 September 2020.

Mother of the victim said that Sandeep and Luv Kush had been harassing her and therefore the victim for months.

The autopsy noted that the victim died by "injury to the cervical spine by blunt-force trauma," and therefore the plan to strangle her wasn't the explanation for death. The final postmortem report also refers to "old tears privately parts, but no rape."

 

 

Cremation of Victim without family's consent

The victim was cremated on the night at about 2:00 am of 29 September 2020 by Uttar Pradesh Police without the consent or knowledge of the victim's family. The brother of the victim alleged that it was done without family's consent and that they were locked up in their house. He also alleged that petrol was used for cremation.However Prashant Kumar, ADG (law and order), said that the family's consent was taken.

 

The forced cremation led the Allahabad High Court to take suo moto cognizance. The bench also asked the victim's family, the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police to appear before it. The bench added, "The incidents which happened after the death of the victim on 29.09.2020 leading up to her cremation, as alleged, have shocked our conscience".

Police and administration

When the news broke out initially through social media, Agra Police, Hathras District Magistrate, and UP's Information & Public Relations called it "fake news". Later, a senior UP Police officer claimed that no sperm was found in samples as per forensic report and that some people had "twisted" the incident to stir "caste-based tension." The officer also said that the forensic report revealed that the victim wasn't raped, However, critics have alleged this evidence is unreliable, citing guidelines that state swabs to test for sperm should only be taken if the assault might have occurred in the previous three days. After three to four days, swabs should be taken to test only for semen, not for sperm. Kumar also stated that the forensic report had found "no semen or semen excretion"; a retired officer quoted by the BBC criticized that "Police officers should not jump to conclusions. The presence or absence of semen by itself doesn't prove rape. We need a lot of other circumstantial and other evidence."

 

The family alleged that they were faced pressure from the administration. A video emerged in which the Hathras District Magistrate is seen pressuring the family into changing their statement. He might be heard saying "Don’t ruin your credibility. These media people will leave in a couple of days. Half have already left, the rest will leave in 2–3 days. We are the ones standing with you. Now it depends on you if you want to keep changing your testimony."

On 3 October, the state government suspended five police officers including the Superintendent of Police.

The Wire and others reported that the Uttar Pradesh government employed Concept PR, a Mumbai public relations firm. The PR firm allegedly sent out press releases (on behalf of the government) stating that the Hathras teenager was not raped. The press releases also alluded to a conspiracy to push the state of Uttar Pradesh into a caste turmoil.

On 4 October, Yogi Adityanath recommended CBI probe. However, The victim’s family is not in favour of the CBI investigation and wants a judicial probe to be conducted in the case.

Uttar Pradesh government claimed "deep rooted conspiracy" and an "international plot" to incite caste based riots in Hathras and defame the Yogi government. 19 FIRs have been filed by the Uttar Pradesh police in the aftermath of the alleged gang rape. The charges listed by police on the main FIR include inciting caste based divides, religious discrimination, doctoring electronic evidence, a conspiracy against the state and defamation.Yogi Adityanath had earlier asked his party workers to "expose those that want to incite caste and communal riots".

Arrests and compensation

Hathras police have arrested the four accused — Sandip, Ramu, Lavkush and Ravi — on charges of attempt to murder, gang rape and violations of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. One of the accused, Ravi, and his father had been arrested 15–20 years ago for allegedly assaulting the victim's grandfather. The victim's brother claimed that no arrest was made in the first 10 days of the incident. 

 

SSP Vikrant Vir had transferred the SHO of Chandpa police station to police lines for failing to promptly act in the case. The State government, Yogi Adityanath and district administration announced a compensation of ₹2.5 million (US$35,000) to the victim's family and a junior assistant job for a family member. Apart from this, the family will also be allotted a house in Hathras under State Urban Development Agency (SUDA) scheme.

Reactions

The case and its subsequent handling has received widespread media attention and condemnation from across the country, and was the subject of protests against the Yogi Adityanath government by activists and opposition.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi were accosted and detained by police in the state of Uttar Pradesh as they attempted to make their way to the village of the victim on foot after their vehicles had been stopped by officers on the motorway. The Mayawati demanded resignation of Chief Minister Yogi stating him as a incable to protecting Dalits in Uttar Pradesh, she further asserted that he should oversee newly built Ram Mandir, Ayodhya or join his Gorakhnath Math.

 

According to some media reports, a group calling itself "Rashtriya Savarna Parishad" came out in support of the accused. The involvement of the police was also implicitly found in various media reports. Another media report stated that an outfit called 'National Sawarna Council' visited the Superintendent of Police and filed a memorandum alleging the family of the victim girl to be involved in implication of the innocent people. A day after the Police forcibly cremated the body of the rape victim, Chandrashekhar Azad the president of Bhim Army (a Dalit-rights organisation based in Uttar Pradesh) was placed under house arrest for staging a protest against the government demanding justice for the victim.

On 3 October 2020, Indian National Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited the victim's family. This was dismissed by the BJP as a "political stunt".

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded execution of the accused.

Around 5000 sanitation workers in Agra went on a strike to demand justice for the victim.

On October 4, Rajveer Singh Pehelwan, an ex-MLA of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), held a rally in support of the accused. Hundreds of people attended the rally, including the family members of the four accused. The meeting was also attended by members of various right-wing outfits like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Karni Sena and Bajrang Dal. These members were also part of various upper caste outfits including Kshatriya Mahasabha, Rashtriya Savarna Sangathan etc.

 

Hathras case | No signs of intercourse, says forensic report

 It also said no sperm samples had been found; lack of evidence of intercourse does not rule out rape, say doctors.

 In its final report on the Hathras victim, the Department of Forensic Medicine of the Aligarh Muslim University’s Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital (JNMCH) has said there were no signs suggestive of vaginal/ anal intercourse. It, however, said there was evidence of physical assault (injuries over the neck and the back).

The forensic report prepared on Saturday and signed by Dr Sadiya Saeed, Chairman of the Department of forensic pathology and professor Faiz Ahmad, said it had been in regard to the FSL report number 4807-Bio-2020, conducted at the govt lab in Agra. The FSL report had stated that the investigation didn't find any sperm within the samples. It was on the idea of the FSL report that ADG Prashant Kumar made a press release denying rape within the case on October 1.
Hamza Malik, president of AMU’s Resident Doctors’ Association said the ultimate opinion was supported the FSL report and denies intercourse, not rape.

 

Examination delayed-“The forensic examination was conducted on September 22, eight days after the incident. In cases of rape, consistent with government guidelines, the forensic samples should be collected within 72 hours of the incident. Sperms can’t survive after quite 90 hours,” he said.

He said if the observations in medico-legal case (MLC) report are read with certain findings in the autopsy report in the light of the new anti-rape law passed after the Nirbhaya’s case, the picture would be different. “Besides, how could you discount her statement before the magistrate which would be treated as the dying declaration of the victim and is crucial in such cases. In sensitive cases, nobody should reach a conclusion on half-truths.”
The referral slip of the Hathras hospital prepared on September 14 said as the girl was in a serious condition, so, no MLC was done before referring her to the JNMCH.
The victim was allegedly brutally assaulted on September 14 by four upper-caste men when she went to collect fodder with her mother in the field. After a long struggle in JNMCH, she was moved to the Safdarjung Hospital where she passed away on September 29. The family had initially named only one accused, Sandeep, who was arrested under Section 307 and relevant sections of the SC/ST Act on September 19.
The charges of gangrape were added on September 22 when the girl recorded her statement under Section 164 of Crpc.

Initial findings-The report counters the MLC report prepared at the JNMCH on September 22 which noted “complete penetration” and “loss of consciousness at the time of the incident” got leaked. In the opinion column of the MLC, the doctor noted, “on the basis of the local examination, I am of the opinion that there are signs of use of force, however, opinion regarding penetrative intercourse is reserved pending availability of FSL reports.”

Sources in the Aligarh hospital said as the girl was unconscious because of a fracture in C6 vertebrae, nobody thought of the physical examination of the victim’s private parts. “We roll in the hay when either the police or the relations complain of sexual abuse . In this case, maybe because of social pressures, the family members didn’t say anything to this effect where she was admitted,” the source said. He further claimed that the JNMCH had referred her to the AIIMS but somehow the police ended up taking her to the Safdarjung hospital.
While the Hathras administration claims that the victim’s family had been changing statements and that the mother and the brother only complained of assault on September 14, family members said the mother had remained silent to protect the honour of the girl.
Meanwhile, members of the SIT set up by the U.P, government visited AMU on Sunday and met the team of doctors who treated the girl during her stay in the hospital. “It is a sensitive medico-legal case and we are cooperating with the investigative agencies. The reports haven't been leaked from our end,” said Shafey Kidwai, a university spokesperson.