Dalit woman raped in Uttar Pradesh's capital

Lucknow: Amid mounting anger against the rapes in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras and Balrampur, another incident of gang-rape was reported from Lucknow on Friday. The incident took place under the jurisdiction of Gudamba police station area where a Dalit woman went to meet the accused and was allegedly raped.

The accused, identified as Vipin, had allegedly called a meeting on August 22 on the pretext of getting the woman a job. When she reached the accused's house, she saw three to four more men there as well, including one Shakeel. The woman has alleged that all the men took turns to rape her and kept her captive for about a week.

Uttar Pradesh Minister Ajit Singh Pal called the Hathras gangrape and death case a "small matter". "The government is working towards the case. The opposition does not have any solid matter so they are picking up small cases. The medical report does not confirm rape in the case," he said at a BJP programme.

Tempers ran high in Hathras on Friday after the district administration banned the entry of the media in Boolgarhi village where the Hathras assault victim lived.

Samajwadi Party (SP) workers on Friday faced a lathicharge when they were marching towards the Gandhi statue here to observe a silent 'satyagraha' in protest against the alleged deterioration in law and order, rising crime against women, unemployment and the recent farm and labour laws.

A day after Uttar Pradesh ADGP Prashant Kumar claimed that the forensic report did not mention rape of the Hathras victim, the Congress on Friday asked the IPS officer to go back to a law school and update himself on the amendments made in relevant law in 2013.

Former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said: "The ADGP of UP would be well-advised to go back to a law school and update himself on the amendment made in 2013 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (rape)."

"He should also read the 1994 Supreme Court judgment in 'State of UP vs Babul Nath' on what was rape even before the amendment. Absence of traces of semen is of no relevance at all.

"The UP Police seems to be a law unto itself. The ADGP has donned the role of a court and is articulating absurd propositions of law that are contrary to the law declared by the Supreme Court," added Chidambaram, a Supreme Court lawyer.

The Additional Director General of Police ((Law and Order) had said in a statement: "The forensic report clearly stated that no semen was found (on the body). We think some people took advantage of the situation, tried to disturb communal harmony, and create a caste conflict. We are examining this and will arrest those who try to vitiate the atmosphere."

Seema Kushwaha, lawyer of the 2012 Delhi rape victim, known as Nirbhaya, will now fight the case of the Hathras victim.Seema tried to meet the victim's family on Thursday, but was prevented from meeting them by the police.