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'Stand With Them': Rahul, Kejriwal Meet Kin of Girl Allegedly Raped in Delhi

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday, 4 August, met the family of a nine-year-old girl who was allegedly raped, murdered, and cremated without the family's consent in Delhi's Nangal.

"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 told them that I am standing with them, that Rahul Gandhi is standing with them until they get justice," Gandhi said after meeting the family, as quoted by ANI.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal said the Delhi government will provide Rs 10 lakh as ex gratia payment to the family, as he called for the Centre to take firm steps to strengthen law and order in the national capital. "We'll order a magisterial inquiry and appoint top lawyers so that culprits get strict punishment," Kejriwal was quoted as saying.

A priest and three employees of a crematorium in Southwest Delhi were arrested on Monday after the girl died under mysterious circumstances, leading to protests in the national capital.

The accused have been identified as Radhey Shyam, the priest at the crematorium, and Kuldeep Kumar (63), Laxmi Narain (48), and Mohd Salim (49), all of whom were reportedly acquainted with the girl.

Gandhi on Tuesday had taken to Twitter to say: "The daughter of a Dalit is also a daughter of the country."

Also Read: Minor Allegedly Raped & Killed in Delhi; 'Shameful', Says CM Arvind Kejriwal

What Happened?

The minor, who lived with her parents near the crematorium, was sent by her mother to get water from the crematorium at around 5:30 pm on Sunday.

At around 6 pm, Radhey Shyam, and two-three other people acquainted with the girl's mother, called and showed her the girl’s body, claiming that she had died after getting electrocuted while getting water, it was reported.

The accused reportedly convinced the girl's family to cremate her without informing the police, claiming that if police file a case, the doctors would steal the girl's organs. Even after the girl's family objected, the accused purportedly tried to carry out the cremation by force. The girl’s body had been pulled off the funeral pyre midway through the cremation, reports said.

The police were called around 10:30 pm, following which a team rushed to the spot.

The girl's mother has claimed that the accused may have sexually assaulted her daughter.

The Investigation So Far

DCP (Southwest) Ingit Pratap Singh on Tuesday said that as per the girl’s mother's statement, an FIR has been registered under IPC Sections 304-A (causing death by negligence), 201 (destruction of evidence), 342 (wrongful restraint) and 34 (common intention), as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, SC/ST Act, and IPC Sections 302 (punishment for murder), 376 (punishment for rape), and 506 at the Delhi Cantonment police station.

A forensics team has also collected evidence from the scene.

However, Singh said that the police has been informally informed that the post-mortem so far has been inconclusive.

"Yesterday, a post-mortem was done on her remaining body parts. Informally, the board of doctors said that they can't reach any conclusion about the cause of death. We will handover the mortal remains to family for last rites soon," Singh told ANI.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has taken suo motu cognisance of the matter and has written to Singh asking him to furnish a detailed report within 48 hours.

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