Three years and seven months since Hathras gangrape; debate on Women's Safety, Development and Ram Temple in Hathras constituency

NEW DELHI: It has been three years and seven months since the murder of the Dalit girl from Hathras Lok Sabha constituency has become a black mark in the country's history. The gangrape that shook the country was on September 14, 2020. The case is that four youths from the Thakur community dragged a 19-year-old Dalit girl across the field and raped her. On March 2, 2023, the trial court acquitted three of the four accused. One accused was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life and a fine of half a lakh. The punishment was not for rape and homicide but for manslaughter.

Women's safety is now being discussed in the context of this case in Hathras, a Scheduled Caste constituency. Not only that but development and the Ayodhya Ram Temple are also being discussed. Most of the voters belong to the Dalit and Thakur communities. Brahmin vote is also crucial. In 2019, BJP's Rajvir Singh Diler won Hathras by 2,60,208 votes. He died of a heart attack on April 24. This time the BJP candidate is Anoop Pradhan Valmiki. Jasveer Valmiki of the Samajwadi Party is the main opponent. This is a stronghold of the BJP. BJP has been winning continuously since 1991 but lost to Rashtriya Lok Dal in 2009. The Rashtriya Lok Dal is now part of the NDA alliance.

Result of 2019

Rajveer Singh Diler (BJP) - 684,299 votes, (59.49%)

Ram Ji Lal Suman (Samajwadi) - 4,24,091 votes (36.87 %)

Triloki Ram (Congress) - 23,926 votes (2.08%)

Case that shook the nation

The girl's spine was broken in the gang rape. A case was registered only on September 20 despite filing a complaint with the UP police on the same day. The victim's statement was taken only two days later. The girl died on September 29 at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. The UP police cremated the girl's body at 2.30 am in extraordinary haste without her parents' permission, shocking the nation. The nation will not forget the cries of the family members that the police locked them inside the house at that time.

Public raged against the Yogi Adityanath government and the police. Five police officers including the SP was suspended and the case was handed over to the CBI.