A 19-year-old Dalit woman assaulted near her village in Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh, on 14 September 2020 died in Delhi on 29 September. Police cremated her in the village before dawn on 30 September, without the family present, they said. The cremation set off protests across India, the sealing of the village, the detention of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, state "conspiracy" cases and a CBI probe. In March 2023 a court convicted one of four accused of culpable homicide and acquitted three.
Key takeaways
- Police cremated the 19-year-old before dawn on 30 September 2020; her family said they were kept away, police said it was "as per the wishes of the family".
- The UP government told the Supreme Court it cremated her at night "to avoid large scale violence", and police cited a forensic report to say she was not raped.
- The village was sealed, and Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi were detained on 1 October before meeting the family on 3 October.
- UP police filed 19 FIRs, one alleging an "international plot" to stir caste riots, and arrested journalist Siddique Kappan under the UAPA; he spent 28 months in jail.
- The CBI charged four men with gangrape and murder; in March 2023 a special court convicted one of culpable homicide and acquitted three, and both sides said they would appeal.
Background: the assault and the cremation
On 14 September 2020 the woman, from a Dalit family, was attacked in a field near her village. After treatment in Aligarh she was moved on 28 September to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi with spinal cord injuries and paralysis, and died there on 29 September PTI via Deccan Herald. Four upper-caste Thakur men from her village were arrested Scroll.
Media reports cited by the Allahabad High Court said the cremation took place at about 2:00 to 2:30 am on 30 September, and that the family kept demanding the body and told officials their tradition did not allow cremation after sunset LiveLaw. The family alleged they were locked in their home while it happened Scroll. Local police said the cremation was carried out "as per the wishes of the family" The News Minute.
How the protests spread
Anger over the night cremation spread within a day. Samajwadi Party workers protesting in Lucknow were lathi-charged on 2 October, and there were protests in Aligarh, Mathura and Allahabad PTI via Business Standard. Demonstrators also rallied in Mumbai Scroll.
In Delhi, a protest called at India Gate on 2 October moved to Jantar Mantar after police imposed prohibitory orders, and Delhi Metro shut exit gates at three stations as crowds grew Deccan Herald. Hundreds demanded Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's resignation, joined by Arvind Kejriwal, Sitaram Yechury, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad and Yogendra Yadav The Tribune.
Delhi Police booked the protesters under IPC Section 188, the Epidemic Act and the Disaster Management Act Deccan Herald. On 3 October West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a march in Kolkata, a day after her party's MPs said they were pushed by officials near the village Free Press Journal.
The sealed village and the Gandhis' detention
On 1 October the Hathras district magistrate imposed Section 144 and ordered the district's borders sealed PTI via Deccan Herald. That day Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were stopped on the Yamuna Expressway as they walked towards Hathras, and Rahul Gandhi fell in a scuffle. Police said they were marching in an area under Section 144 and the Hathras DM had warned a visit could disturb law and order. Both were detained and sent back to Delhi The Tribune. UP police later filed a case against them Scroll.
Just now police pushed me, lathicharged me and threw me on the ground. I want to ask, can only (Narendra) Modiji walk in this country?
Rahul Gandhi, Yamuna Expressway, 1 October 2020
On 2 October police said no politicians or media would be allowed into the village until the state's Special Investigation Team finished its probe PTI via Business Standard. The Indian Express reported over 300 police in the village and barricades about 2 km away. Family members said their phones had been taken and they were virtually under house arrest Claim · Family Scroll. A secretly recorded video showed the district magistrate, in Scroll's words, issuing "a veiled threat" to the father and asking him to soften his stance Scroll.
The media were let in on 3 October, and UP's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi allowed a group of five, including both Gandhis, to meet the family Madhyamam. On 4 October Chandrashekhar Azad walked about 5 km to the village after his car was stopped; police then booked him and about 400 others for violating Section 144 Scroll.
The "no rape" claim and the dispute
On 1 October ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said she died of neck injuries and was not raped Government's position.
The FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report hasn't found sperm in samples, making it clear that some people twisted the matter to stir caste-based tension. Such people will be identified and legal action will be taken.
ADG Prashant Kumar, 1 October 2020, via Scroll
Experts said sperm would not be found in samples collected days later. The autopsy recorded strangulation and a spine injury and, without diagnosing rape, noted genital tears Scroll. The chief medical officer at the Aligarh college said the forensic report "holds no value" because the samples were taken 11 days after the crime Scroll. On 12 October the High Court asked the ADG, "How do you know she wasn't raped," adding: "Has the investigation concluded?" Scroll.
The "international conspiracy" FIRs
On 4 October police at Chandpa station in Hathras filed an FIR against unknown persons alleging an "international plot" to cause caste violence and defame the state government. It invoked sedition (Section 124A), promoting enmity (153A), assertions against national integration (153B), conspiracy (120B) and Section 67 of the IT Act Newslaundry Scroll. Police said they would examine claims that people tried to "mislead the girl's family"; a protest-mobilising website, "Justice for Hathras Victim", was under scrutiny Newslaundry. In all, police filed 19 FIRs against unidentified people over alleged attempts to incite caste conflict Scroll.
Our opponents are conspiring against us by trying to lay a foundation for caste and communal riots through international funding.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, 5 October 2020, via Scroll
Reporting reviewed for this page found no court ruling on the "international plot" allegation.
Siddique Kappan and the UAPA case
On 5 October 2020 UP police arrested Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan with three other men in a car travelling to Hathras. Police first accused him of intending to start a caste riot; sedition and UAPA charges followed Scroll.
The state said Kappan had close PFI links and was part of a conspiracy to foment religious discord Government's position The South First. Kappan said he was going to report and called the charges "trumped up" Claim · Kappan Scroll. On 9 September 2022 the Supreme Court granted him bail. Chief Justice UU Lalit said: "Every person has the right to free expression. He is trying to show that the victim needs justice, and raise a common voice. Is that a crime in the eyes of the law?" The South First. Held also in an ED money-laundering case, he got bail there in December 2022 and walked out on 2 February 2023 after 28 months The News Minute. In January 2023 the High Court set aside the order framing charges against him and sent his discharge plea back to the trial court Bar and Bench. In November 2024 the Supreme Court dropped his weekly police reporting condition Bar and Bench.
CBI probe and the courts
On 2 October the state suspended Hathras SP Vikrant Vir and four other officers after a preliminary SIT report PTI via Business Standard. Adityanath recommended a CBI probe on 3 October and the CBI took over on 10 October Scroll.
On 1 October the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court registered a suo motu case titled "In Re: Right to decent and dignified last rites/cremation", saying the events after her death "have shocked our conscience" LiveLaw. At the 12 October hearing, Justices Pankaj Mithal and Rajan Roy asked the district magistrate whether he would have cremated the body that way if the family were well-off. He said cremating that night was his decision, taken for law and order Scroll. Its order said she "was at least entitled to decent cremation" and found no good reason not to hand the body to the family "for some time, say for even half an hour" BOOM.
On 27 October the Supreme Court made the High Court the monitor of the CBI probe and ordered CRPF protection for the family and witnesses The News Minute. On 18 December 2020 the CBI charged all four accused with gangrape and murder The News Minute. The chargesheet said she "categorically stated that she was gangraped by the four accused persons" and faulted UP police for ignoring her statement The Wire.
Timeline
Death and night cremation
She dies in Delhi; police cremate her in the village before dawn LiveLaw.
Gandhis detained, High Court steps in
The ADG cites the forensic report; the High Court takes suo motu notice Scroll.
Jantar Mantar, suspensions, visit
Protest in Delhi; SP suspended; the Gandhis meet the family; CBI probe announced Madhyamam.
Conspiracy FIR, Kappan arrested
Chandpa police file the "international plot" FIR; Kappan is arrested Newslaundry.
CBI chargesheet
Four accused charged with gangrape and murder The News Minute.
Verdict
One convicted of culpable homicide; three acquitted BOOM.
Both accounts
Family's and protesters' account
The family said they were not allowed to see the body or perform the last rites, that police kept them in their home during the cremation, took their phones and pressured them to say they were satisfied with the probe Claim · Family Scroll. Protesters accused police of destroying evidence through the cremation The Tribune. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the family wanted a judicial probe Scroll, and their lawyer asked the Supreme Court to move the trial to Delhi The News Minute.
UP government and police account
Government's position In its 6 October affidavit to the Supreme Court, the state said intelligence inputs showed the issue "was being exploited and a caste/communal colour was being given", that "extraordinary circumstances forced the extraordinary step of cremating the victim at night", and that the district administration had tried to convince the parents to cremate her at night "to avoid large scale violence in the morning". It cited a high alert before the Babri Masjid verdict and Covid limits on gatherings, said forensic tests ruled out rape, and said "vicious propaganda" by sections of the media and political parties aimed to create caste disharmony Scroll. Suspended SP Vikrant Vir told the High Court he had received no "instructions from Lucknow" Scroll.
The 2023 verdict
On 2 March 2023 Special Judge Trilok Pal Singh of the SC/ST court in Hathras convicted Sandeep of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (IPC Section 304) and under the SC/ST Act, and acquitted Ramu, Ravi and Luv Kush. None was found guilty of rape BOOM. Sandeep got life imprisonment and a Rs 50,000 fine, Rs 40,000 of it for the family The Tribune.
The court held that Sandeep strangled her but, as she talked for eight days afterwards, he could not be said to have intended to kill her. It found no medical evidence of rape and said her later statements naming all four may have been "tutored" after politicians visited BOOM The Tribune. Her brother said, "We are yet to get justice" The Tribune.
Outcome
- Verdict: One of four accused convicted of culpable homicide and under the SC/ST Act; three acquitted BOOM.
- Officials: Hathras SP and four officers suspended, 2 October 2020 PTI via Business Standard.
- Cases: 19 FIRs over alleged caste incitement; a case against the Gandhis; a Section 144 case against Azad and about 400 others; a UAPA case against Kappan and three others Scroll.
- Policy: A state SOP on dignified cremation, which the High Court in August 2022 told UP to publicise Scroll.
- Family: In July 2022 the High Court told UP to honour its promise of a Group C job for a family member and consider relocating the family outside Hathras; the Supreme Court dismissed the state's challenge in March 2023 Scroll.
Where things stand
Lawyers for the convict and for the family said in March 2023 they would appeal to the Allahabad High Court National Herald. No ruling on those appeals was found in reporting up to October 2026.
In July 2024 the High Court was told the family had not been relocated to places they wanted, such as Noida or Ghaziabad The Wire. After Rahul Gandhi visited again in December 2024, the woman's brother said the family was "living as prisoners" and her ashes were still at home. Gandhi said the job and relocation promises were unkept; UP BJP spokesperson Harish Chandra Srivastava said the opposition was "presenting distorted facts" National Herald.
Questions people ask
Why did police cremate the Hathras victim at night?
The UP government told the Supreme Court that intelligence inputs showed the issue was being given "a caste/communal colour" and that it cremated her at night "to avoid large scale violence in the morning". The Allahabad High Court said it found no good reason why the body could not be given to the family even briefly.
Was the Hathras victim raped?
UP police said a forensic report found no sperm, which doctors said was expected in samples taken 11 days later. The CBI charged four men with gangrape, but the trial court in 2023 found rape not proved.
What was the Hathras verdict?
On 2 March 2023 a special SC/ST court convicted Sandeep of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and under the SC/ST Act, with life imprisonment. Ramu, Ravi and Luv Kush were acquitted.
Why was Siddique Kappan arrested?
UP police arrested the Kerala journalist on his way to Hathras, alleging PFI links and a plot to incite riots, and charged him under the UAPA. He said he was going to report. He got Supreme Court bail in September 2022 and left jail in February 2023.
Sources
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi leave to meet family of Hathras rape victim, 1 Oct 2020
- The Tribune: Rahul, Priyanka detained on way to Hathras, 1 Oct 2020
- Scroll: Forensic report shows there was no rape in Hathras case, claim UP Police, 1 Oct 2020
- LiveLaw: Allahabad HC takes suo moto cognizance of Hathras case, 1 Oct 2020
- PTI via Business Standard: Hathras SP, 4 other cops suspended; media entry banned, 2 Oct 2020
- The Tribune: Massive protest in Delhi as hundreds gather at Jantar Mantar, 2 Oct 2020
- Deccan Herald: Kejriwal joins protest at Jantar Mantar, 2 Oct 2020
- Deccan Herald: Delhi Police registers case against protesters at Jantar Mantar, 2 Oct 2020
- Scroll: UP Police impose curfew-like restrictions on woman's family, lock up village, 3 Oct 2020
- Madhyamam: Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi reach Hathras victim's home, 3 Oct 2020
- Free Press Journal: Mamata takes to Kolkata streets, 4 Oct 2020
- Newslaundry: UP police cry 'international plot' to cause caste violence, 5 Oct 2020
- Scroll: Opponents plotting against us through international funding, alleges Adityanath, 5 Oct 2020
- Scroll: UP Police book Bhim Army chief, 400 others, 5 Oct 2020
- Scroll: Hathras case is 'shocking, extraordinary', says Supreme Court, 6 Oct 2020
- Scroll: Would midnight cremation have been done if woman's family was rich, Allahabad HC asks UP, 13 Oct 2020
- BOOM: Hathras victim entitled to a decent cremation, Allahabad High Court, 14 Oct 2020
- The News Minute: SC orders CRPF protection to victim's family, witnesses, 27 Oct 2020
- The News Minute: Hathras victim was gangraped and murdered, CBI in chargesheet, Dec 2020
- Scroll: Sensitise officials to follow rules for dignified cremation, High Court tells UP, 5 Aug 2022
- Scroll: Siddique Kappan case, SC issues notice to UP government, Aug 2022
- The South First: Supreme Court grants bail to journalist Siddique Kappan, 9 Sept 2022
- Bar and Bench: Allahabad High Court quashes order framing charges against Kappan, 20 Jan 2023
- The News Minute: Siddique Kappan released on bail after 28 months, 2 Feb 2023
- The Wire: Court acquits three out of four accused, none found guilty of rape, 2 Mar 2023
- BOOM: No evidence of rape in Hathras case, UP court, Mar 2023
- The Tribune: Fight for justice will go on, says Hathras victim's family, 3 Mar 2023
- National Herald: Lone Hathras convict to challenge conviction, Mar 2023
- Scroll: SC rejects UP government's plea against providing job to family member, 27 Mar 2023
- The Wire: Two years after court directive, family yet to be rehabilitated, 23 July 2024
- Bar and Bench: Supreme Court allows plea by Siddique Kappan to relax bail condition, 4 Nov 2024
- National Herald: 'Living as prisoners ourselves', says Hathras victim's brother, 17 Dec 2024