Hathras rape case: Nirbhaya convicts’ lawyer AP Singh to defend the accused

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Ajay Prakash Singh, the lawyer who defended the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape accused, will be defending those accused in the Hathras gangrape case.

He was appointed by the Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha - an upper caste organisation – to defend the Hathras gangrape case accused.

According to an India Today report, former Union minister Raja Manvendra Singh, who heads the organisation, appointed AP Singh to defend the Hathras gangrape case accused.

Singh has reportedly said the upper caste body has gathered enough fund to pay AP Singh’s fees.

He claimed that the Hathras incident is being “misused” by the members of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe communities to taint the image of upper caste society, especially the Rajputs.

In a letter addressed to media, Singh said: “In this case, it has been decided that AP Singh will plead the case for the accused party to bring out the truth.”

Notably, though the Hathras gangrape case has seen nationwide uproar and protests, a section of upper caste society has been backing the accused and demanding an “unbiased” investigation into the case.

For instance, last week, members of the Savarn Samaj – another upper caste body – had staged protests in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, demanding justice for those accused of brutalising the Dalit girl.