Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday met the family of the nine-year-old Dalit girl allegedly raped, murdered and forcibly cremated by her attackers in Delhi’s Cantonment area on Sunday.
“I spoke with the family… they want justice and nothing else. They’re saying justice is not being given to them and that they should be helped. We will do that. I said ‘I am standing with you. Rahul Gandhi is standing with them until they get justice’,” Gandhi was quoted by news agency ANI.
In a tweet, the Congress leader said: “Her parents’ tears are saying only one thing – their daughter, the daughter of this country, deserves justice. And I am with them on this path of justice.” Gandhi had raised the issue on Tuesday too, calling her “the nation’s daughter”.
The crime has drawn comparisons to the gangrape of a Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras in September last year. The woman’s body was also cremated in a hurry – allegedly by the police who acted without her parent’s consent and disposed off the body at 2 am in the morning.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has called for improvements to the city’s law and order situation, is also expected to meet the young girl’s family, and has pledged to help seek justice.
“The murder of a nine-year-old innocent in Delhi, after subjecting her to brutality, is very shameful. There is a need to improve the law and order situation… the culprits should be given capital punishment at the earliest,” Kejriwal tweeted.
Dalit leader and Bhim Army Chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad has already met the girl’s family, and has said his organisation will join protests in Nangal village and offer support.
“What was my daughter’s fault? How will I live without her?” the mother of the girl wailed as hundreds of locals, including the victim’s parents, staged a protest for the second day near the site of the incident in Old Nangal area in southwest Delhi, demanding capital punishment for the accused.
“My daughter went to get cold water from crematorium ground when the incident happened. The priest showed me her body for a very brief interval of time. My daughter’s lips were blue. The priest cremated my child without our consent,” the girl’s mother alleged.
Police had on Monday said that based on the statement of the victim’s mother, rape charges have been added in the FIR. Four people, including the priest, have been arrested.
“The fire was doused by our community members who reached the spot and pulled the legs of my daughter. We need justice for her and the accused should get strict punishment,” the girl’s mother said.
Only the burnt legs of the girl were recovered from the crematorium ground.
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