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New Delhi, India – A 9-year-old girl belonging to a marginalized Dalit community in India was gang-raped, murdered and forcibly cremated in the capital New Delhi, her family said.
This terrible incident triggered the fourth day of protests in the city on Wednesday. It was the latest case of sexual violence against a former “untouchable” community that is at the bottom of India’s complex caste hierarchy.
The girl’s family claimed that a Hindu priest working in a local crematorium and his associates raped her on Sunday and then cremated her body without their consent.
The New Delhi crematorium, where the Dalit girl was allegedly forcibly cremated by the suspect [Zafar Aafaq/Al Jazeera]The family, along with other Dalits and activists, camped on a road near Nangar, New Delhi, demanding justice.
The police said they had arrested four defendants and launched an investigation into the incident.
“Your daughter is dead”
Her mother told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the girl’s identity could not be determined under Indian law, and she went to the water fountain in the crematorium to fetch water.
“Her father went to the market to buy vegetables. An hour passed, but she did not come back, I was very anxious. So I rushed to the crematorium, and the priest told me:’Your daughter is dead,'” she said.
“I was shocked and asked the priest to tell me how my daughter died. I told him I wanted to take her to the police station and the hospital, but he refused, saying,’Don’t do that. I will give you money, but let We are here to resolve this issue. You will not be able to fight a lawsuit.'”
The girl’s mother said that 55-year-old priest Radhey Shyam told her that her daughter was electrocuted when the water was injected.
“But I think he is lying,” she told Al Jazeera. She insisted on seeing her daughter’s body.
“She was lifeless in bed,” the mother said, her voice broken. “She has bruises on her body, her face is pale, and her clothes are wet.”
At the same time, the priest and his colleagues ignored the helpless mother’s protest, locked the door of the crematorium and forcibly cremated the girl’s body.
New Delhi crematorium suspected of crime [Zafar Aafaq/Al Jazeera]As soon as news of the incident spread, the girl’s father and their neighbors rushed to the crematorium. They captured the priest and three other people, and according to local media reports, they admitted to raping the young girl.
After a while, the police arrived and detained the defendant. The suspect has received cases of gang rape, murder and sex crimes against children, and the crematorium has been sealed off.
Since Sunday, hundreds of demonstrators have taken to the streets of New Delhi, demanding the death penalty for four men accused of crimes.
The girl’s family and residents of South Galle blocked a highway outside an army camp in the area.
Protests may snowball across the country, and some Dalit groups have announced protests against the atrocities facing the community, especially Dalit women.
“This is not an isolated incident. It’s just that it was exposed. Sexual violence against women, especially women from backward classes, is very common in this country. They must strive for justice,” joined this family protesting New Delhi Women’s Rights Campaign Suman Dixit told Al Jazeera.
Activists speak to protesters protesting against rape and murder in New Delhi [Zafar Aafaq/Al Jazeera]India is considered one of them The most dangerous place Be a woman in the world. Data from the Ministry of the Interior last year showed that a woman was raped every 15 minutes in the country.
The vast majority of sex crimes and other forms of crime are directed at Dalits.
In September last year, the rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hatteras District, Uttar Pradesh shocked the country and sparked fierce protests.
In that case, the police were accused of forcibly cremating the body of the teenager against the wishes of his family in the dead of night. Locked in their house.
Although India has strict anti-rape laws, activists and feminists say that the local situation has not improved.
A report issued by the National Dalit Justice Movement (NDMJ) in September last year stated that nearly 400,000 violent incidents were reported between 2009 and 2018, an increase of 6% over the previous decade.
#Haslas Terror repeats itself in Delhi | A pariah girl was allegedly raped in a crematorium and cremated by a priest without the consent of her family. The police tried to do all types of concealment as usual | Will we be silent bystanders of this terrible crime again ? #Nangalbrutality
-Bezwada Wilson (@BezwadaWilson) August 2, 2021
Pritvira Singh, the former police chief of Himachal Pradesh who also visited the protesters on Tuesday, told Al Jazeera that India’s criminal justice system and police services need to be reformed to prevent such crimes.
“The system has shifted to serve the rich and powerful. It must change,” said Singh, who now runs a social justice organization.
Earlier Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi, the main opposition leader of the Indian National Congress, met with his family to show solidarity.
“My responsibility is to help the victim’s family,” he told reporters after the interview.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (Arvind Kejriwal) also met with his family on Tuesday and announced that he would provide 1 million Indian rupees (US$13,476) in financial assistance to his family and provide legal help to combat the case.
Kejriwal said on Twitter that the incident was “barbaric” and “shameful”. “It is necessary to improve the security situation in Delhi,” he wrote.
The protesters said they were ready to sit in indefinitely for justice.
“As long as justice is not done, we will stay here with our family. We want to hang the criminals,” said Suman, the Dalit neighbor of the victim in his 40s.
“It’s enough. We can’t tolerate this situation every day.”
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