Accused in Hathras case claims family killed 19-year-old, says he was 'friends' with victim

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The four men accused in alleged rape and murder of a 19-year-old in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, have written to the Hathras Superintendent of Police (SP) that it was the mother and the brother of the victim who had killed her since they were against her friendship with one of the accused.

The 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four men in Hathras on September 14. She died on September 29 at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital.

The letter, according to an Indian Express report, states that the prime accused, Sandeep, was 'friends' with the victim and that they often spoke over the 'phone'.

According to Sandeep, he was arrested on September 20 under a 'false case'.

"I was arrested on September 20 under a false case. My relatives Ram and Ravi were also arrested in this case along with a local Luv Kush. The woman (victim) was my friend. We would meet each other and also talk over the phone. Her family was against our friendship," Sandeep says in the letter.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

According to Sandeep's version of events, he met the woman in the fields, where he alleged that her mother and brother were also present. He said the victim had asked him to leave the place, which he did. He claims that later he was told by villagers that the woman's family beat her up because she was friends with him.

"Her mother and brother beat her up. She sustained severe injuries which later caused her death. I have never hit the woman or done anything wrong. Her mother and brother registered a false case against me and three others and sent us to jail. We are innocent. Please investigate this matter and get us justice," the letter, which also carries thump prints of the other three accused, states.

The girl's family has, however, said that the allegations have been made to malign them and that she did not have a phone and did not know how to use one.

"She didn’t have a cellphone and didn’t know how to use one. These allegations are false and the men are trying to malign us. My husband and father-in-law are very stressed. We are tired of these baseless allegations. Sandeep has been harassing my sister-in-law for months," the victim's sister-in-law said.