In Hathras, 19-year-old’s family unable to move on

The family of nine have been living under heavy security cordon since the incident — they are guarded by a 30-member company of masked CRPF men, armed with tear gas shell launchers and rifles, while there is a metal detector outside their home as well as CCTVs.

Speaking to The Indian Express, the victim’s brother said: “We wanted all this to end. We had hoped that the evidence put forth in the case would help convict all the accused. We wanted to put all this behind us and leave the village. We can’t leave now and will continue to remain under this security. It makes us feel safe, but it is also suffocating… it is like imprisonment.”

On September 14, 2020, the girl was assaulted, allegedly raped and left bleeding in a field. She was found by her family and taken to a hospital in Aligarh, and then to Delhi where she later died at the Safdarjung hospital. Her body was taken away in an ambulance late in the evening, driven to her village, and cremated in the early hours by UP policemen and officials.

The family claimed they have been unable to have any guests over, barring the odd relative who happens to visit them. To gain entrance to the house, prior permission has to be taken from senior CRPF officers and following proper document verification they are able to enter the house.

They said three young girls in the family have not gone to school since 2020. “My daughter has not been able to even go out and play,” said the father of one of the girls.

The victim’s sister-in-law said even buying vegetables is a task fraught with anxiety. “We have to go with a security cordon to buy vegetables. Some of the family members of the accused persons openly threaten us,” she alleged.

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The three men in the family said they have been unable to find any work because of the tight security around their home as well as social ostracisation. “We buy vegetables and other food items with the compensation of Rs 25 lakh that we got. We live our lives on that. We recently bought a buffalo, at least our children can drink milk,” the brother said.

The family’s lawyer, Seema Kushwaha, said the Uttar Pradesh government has still not provided the male members of the family with a government job. “Despite clear directions to provide them with a job, they have not been given one,” she said.

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Meanwhile, the woman’s belongings remain as she left them — her clothes lie untouched and her sewing machine gathers dust. In a small corner, her ashes remain inside an urn. “We will not immerse them in the Ganga till all the accused are convicted,” the woman’s sister-in-law said.