The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet in the Hathras case, with the investigation agency saying that the victim was gang-raped and murdered by the accused, reports said on Friday, 18 December.
The charge sheet has been filed at a special SC/ST court, and the CBI will take the brother of the Dalit woman, who was allegedly gang-raped, to Gujarat for psychological assessment, reported news agency ANI.
“The CBI filed a charge sheet against all four accused under various sections,” Munna Singh Pundir, the lawyer of the accused, was quoted as saying.
According to The Indian Express, the charge sheet has been filed under sections 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 376A, 376D (gang-rape), 302 ( Punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The woman had died at a hospital in Delhi days after she was allegedly gang-raped and tortured on 14 September.
Her hurried cremation late at night on 30 September, purportedly against the wishes of her family, had created outrage across the country, with many slamming the handling of the case by the Uttar Pradesh police.