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The 19-year-old victim died Tuesday morning in a New Delhi hospital from injuries that had kept her hospitalized since Sept. 14, when she was raped by four men in Hathras.
Hundreds of activists participated in various protests after a 19-year-old Dalit girl was gang raped and tortured in Hathras in Uttar Pradesh state two weeks ago. She succumbed to injuries in Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi on Sep. 29.
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The Common Man's Party (AAP) and the organization for the defense of "The Untouchables" Bhim Army called on citizens to demand justice for the victim in Jantar Mantar.
Among the attendees was the head of the New Delhi government, Arvind Kejriwal, who asked the crowd "not to make the issue a political issue" and said that "no rape should occur in the country." The leader of the opposition Congress Party Priyanka Gandhi was present at a prayer meeting at the Valmiki Temple in Delhi.
On Thursday, citizens tried to hold protests in the town where the gang rape victim lived. The Uttar Pradesh state authorities, however, banned people from accessing that region on the grounds of COVID-19 restrictions. Priyanka Gandhi and her brother Rahul were arrested for defying that ban.
#Hathras shows us that crimes are reflective of the profound injustices we as a society let fester in our minds and lives. Let's be reminded that this crime is a manifestation of the caste violence and gender violence that plagues India, one that will haunt us for times to come. pic.twitter.com/eIxyEg54VM
— Swachhalay (@Swachhalay) September 30, 2020
Indira Gandhi's grandchildren and Rajiv Gandhi's children traveled to that region to offer their condolences to the victim's family and the untouchable community, which is at the lowest level of the Hindu caste system.
Rahul directly blamed the head of the Uttar Pradesh state government, Yogi Adityanath, for being responsible for the lack of protection of women and untouchables in the region.
The demonstrations take place precisely on the anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, who led the Indian independence movement with non-violence as its main weapon of struggle and defended non-discrimination in the caste system.
The 19-year-old victim died Tuesday morning in a New Delhi hospital from injuries that had kept her hospitalized since Sept. 14, when she was raped by four men in Hathras.
In the early hours of Wednesday, the woman's body was reportedly cremated by the police without the consent of her family.
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