Hathras case: Court accepts CBI chargesheet against 4 accused, next hearing on March 2

Express News Service
LUCKNOW: The Special Court (SC/ST court) of Hathras on Friday framed charges against the four accused of the Hathras gangrape and murder case after hearing out both sides.

The CBI had framed gangrape and murder charges against the four accused — Sandeep, Ravi, Ramu, and Lavkush.

During the hearing, the victim’s family, the four accused, and CBI investigative officer DySP Seema Pahuja was present in the court. The accused were brought from Aligarh Jail under tight security. The court has posted the matter for March 2 for the next hearing.

The Special Court had already rejected bail applications of the three accused — Ravi, Ramu, and Lavkush. The fourth accused Sandeep is yet to apply for bail. After framing of charges, all the four accused were sent back to jail.

It may be recalled that a Dalit girl, 19, was gang-raped and brutalised allegedly by the four youths of Boolgarhi village under Chandpa police station area in Hathras district on September 14, 2020. The incident took place when the victim had gone to the field along with her mother to collect fodder for thecattle. 

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After the incident, the girl was admitted to a district hospital in critical condition and was later taken to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College of AMU in Aligarh. But as her condition deteriorated, she WAS shifted to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi ON September 28, 2020, but succumbed to her injuries onSeptember 29, 2020. 

All the four accused were arrested before her death on September 23, 2022. The girl had given a dying declaration, on September 22, 2020, before a magistrate confirming gang rape and physical assault by the accused.

The case had triggered a nationwide outrage following the cremation of the victim’s body by the Hathras police in a hush-hush manner against the family’s wish in the dead of night on September 30, 2020. Yogi Adityanath’s government then recommended a CBI probe into the case.

Following the investigation, the CBI filed a charge-sheet in 67 days against the four accused in the Special Court under Sections 376, 376A, 376D, 302 of the IPC, and Section 3 (2)(5) of the SC/ST Act.