Attempted strangulation, fracture in neck: Chilling details of Hathras rape victim's postmortem emerge

1-October-2020

The postmortem report of the 20-year-old Dalit woman, who was gangraped in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, has revealed chilling details of the treatment meted out to her. The girl suffered a fracture in her neck as a result of repeated strangulation.

The report has mentioned injury to her cervical spine (neck) produced by "indirect blunt trauma, ans its resultant sequelae." It further said that the ligature mark over the neck is consistent with attempted strangulation but did not contribute to death in the case. Signed by three doctors, the report said fracture of C6 cervical vertebra was present with extravasations of blood along the fracture line. The postmortem was conducted by doctors of Safdarjung Hospital in the presence of police personnel.

Reminding the nation of the Nirbhaya case, the Dalit teen was allegedly sexually attacked by four men on September 14 and referred on Monday to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi with spinal injuries, paralysis and cuts in her tongue. She died around 3 am on Tuesday. The men alleged to be involved in the crime are under arrest and will now face charges under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, according to the Hathras Superintendent of Police Vikrant Vir.

Meanwhile, another Dalit girl's rape case has come to light. A 22-year-old Dalit woman died after allegedly being raped by two men in Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh. Both the accused in the Balrampur incident have been arrested, police said. The victim's mother claimed that the rapists broke the legs and back of her daughter, a charge denied by the police.