Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Allahabad High Court to monitor the CBI investigation in the sensational Hathras case, in which a Dalit girl was allegedly raped by four upper-caste men in a field on September 14. The victim later succumbed to her injuries on September 29 at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital during treatment.The victim was later cremated in the dead of the night near her home on September 30.
The apex court said that all the aspects of the case, including monitoring of the probe and providing security to the victim’s family as well as the witnesses, would be considered by the high court.
A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde said that plea for transfer of trial out of Uttar Pradesh in the case would be considered later after the CBI probe is completed. The announcement came after claims were made that a fair trial was not possible in Uttar Pradesh as the probe has allegedly been muddled. The bench also considered the request of the Uttar Pradesh government and asked the Allahabad High Court to delete the victim’s name from one of its orders on a PIL pending there.
Previously, the UP govt informed that eight CCTV cameras have been installed outside the victim’s home to ensure their security. The state government too has asked the apex court to monitor the CBI probe as the team began its investigation on Tuesday. The team headed by Dy SP Seema Pahuja has visited the field where the victim was allegedly strangled, along with the victim’s mother and brother, for recreating the crime scene.