Rahul Gandhi meets family of 9-year-old, allegedly raped, murdered in Delhi

Rahul Gandhi meets the family of the minor girl who was allegedly raped, murdered, and cremated without her parents' consent in Old Nangal crematorium, Delhi. (Image: Congress media cell)

Senior Congress leader and Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi on August 4 met family of the nine-year-old Dalit girl who was allegedly gang-raped, murdered and then cremated by her attackers in South West Delhi on August 1.

The girl, who lived close to a crematorium in Purana Nangal in the Delhi Cantonment area, had on July 31 gone to get water from a cooler at the crematorium but did not come back. Around 6 pm, a priest at the crematorium along with three others called the girl’s mother to the spot to show her the body, according to the reports.

"I spoke with the family, they want justice and nothing else. They are saying that justice is not being given to them and they should be helped. We will do that. I have said that I am standing with them. Rahul Gandhi is standing with them until they get justice," Rahul Gandhi said after meeting the family, according to news agency ANI.

Gandhi tweeted on August 3, calling the young girl the "nation's daughter".

"Dalit's child is also the nation's daughter," he tweeted in Hindi with the screen shot of a news report of the incident.

दलित की बेटी भी देश की बेटी है। pic.twitter.com/CdbWkCwePP

Related stories

• 
  Scientists warn centre against accepting ‘Compromise Formula’ at Peru plant treaty meet
• 
  How to build a credit history as a first-time borrower in India
• 
  India’s aviation sector poised for major expansion: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 3, 2021

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is also scheduled to meet the family at 11: 30 pm today.

On August 2, Police arrested four suspects including the priest after the victim’s mother identified them. The accused have been charged under sections 376 (rape), 302 (murder), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 204 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under the relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the SC/ST Act.

Family members, relatives of the victim, and residents of Purana Nangal have been protesting since August 2 demanding the death penalty for the accused.

Police had initially only registered charges of culpable homicide, wrongful confinement, and destruction of evidence in the case. However, following protests and based on the family’s statement to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, rape charges were added.

#Hathras horror repeated in Delhi | A dalit girl allegedly raped inside crematorium and cremated by a priest without consent of family | Police as usual trying to do all type of hush up | Are we going to be silent spectators to such horrific crimes again #Nangalbrutality

— Bezwada Wilson (@BezwadaWilson) August 2, 2021

The incident has since sparked outrage on social media with people comparing it to the Hathras rape case, in which a 20-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped and killed by four upper-caste men last year. The woman later died in Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital.

Before Rahul Gandhi, many politicians visited the family and the protest site.

Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad joined the protest on August 3 demanding strict and immediate action in the case.

दिल्ली में 9 साल की बच्ची के साथ अत्याचार और हत्या की भयानक घटना हुई है। हमारी टीम मौक़े पर है। ये मेरा अपना परिवार है। वह मेरी बहन थी। कल मैं खुद पीड़ित परिवार से मिलने जाऊंगा। न्याय होने तक हमारा संघर्ष जारी रहेगा।

— Chandra Shekhar Aazad (@BhimArmyChief) August 2, 2021

Delhi’s social welfare minister Rajendra Pal Gautam also visited the protest site and assured the family to provide the necessary support

“Police should conduct a fair investigation. If not then the Delhi government will carry out a magisterial enquiry,” Aam Aadmi Party said in a tweet.