LUCKNOW: A Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe court on Thursday acquitted three out of the four accused in the case of gang rape and torture of a Dalit woman in 2020. The court acquitted Luv Kush Singh, Ramu Singh and Ravi Singh due to lack of evidence.

The court order is based on the fact that the prosecution could not prove the rape and murder charges against them. The court had earlier found one among the four guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The convict Sandeep has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Responding to the verdict, the woman's family said that they are not satisfied with the court's judgment and will appeal to the High Court.

The controversial incident took place in the western province of Uttar Pradesh in September 2020. A 19-year-old Dalit woman from Bhulgarhi in Hathras district was gang-raped and found in critical condition. She later died while undergoing treatment at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital. Four upper-caste persons were named accused in the case.

The police were accused of hastily cremating the victim's body without respecting the request of the family, which led to great criticism. Apart from this, the argument of a senior police officer was that no male sperm was found in the girl's body and she succumbed to her death due to a severe neck injury. There was criticism that the police is trying to destroy the evidence.