India’s CBI lodges FIR, takes over probe into ‘gang-rape, murder’ of Dalit woman

India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today registered an FIR and took over the probe into the alleged gang-rape and murder of a Dalit woman in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh, about 190km off New Delhi, last month.

The CBI registered the FIR under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections related to charges of gang-rape and murder, officials said.

The 19-year old Dalit girl was allegedly raped by four upper caste men on September 14. She succumbed to severe assault injuries at a hospital in Delhi a fortnight later which was followed by a hushed-up late night cremation by the district administration.

The incident and the administration's move to cremate her body late at night triggered massive outrage among people resulting in a pitched political battle from Delhi to Hathras.

Facing a rising tide of public anger and the opposition's protests over the alleged rape and murder, the BJP government in UP decided to hand over the case to the CBI.

"The complainant had alleged that the accused tried to strangulate his sister in the millet fieldon September 14, 2020. The case has been registered by CBI on the request of Uttar Pradesh Government and further Notification from Government of India," CBI Spokesperson RK Gaur said.

Meanwhile, opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sharpened his attack on the BJP government in UP over the alleged rape and murder of the Dalit woman.

In a tweet, he said "The (UP) Chief Minister (Adityanath) & his police say no one was raped because for them, and many other Indians, she was NO ONE".

The former Congress chief also said the "shameful truth" was that many Indians do not consider Dalits, Muslims and tribals to be human.

He also tagged a media report which asked why UP police was denying rape when the woman had repeatedly reported that she was raped.