The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has charged the four accused in the alleged gang rape of a young Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras in September for gang-rape and murder, their lawyer said.

The central agency has also invoked charges against the accused under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, their lawyer said.

The 20-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four men from the so-called upper caste community in Hathras on September 14. She later succumbed to her injuries at a hospital in the national capital.

She was cremated near her residence on September 30.

The UP Police and their way of handling the case was criticised especially after the cops decided to cremate the victim late in the night without the family’s approval, which led to widespread anger across the country.

The police, however, said the cremation was performed ‘as per the wishes of the family’.

In October, the Supreme Court said that the Allahabad High Court will monitor the probe conducted by the CBI.

The main accused had written to the Uttar Pradesh police from jail, claiming that he and the three other accused are being framed in the case and demanded ‘justice’ for the four of them. He also accused the victim’s family of torturing her.

The victim’s family, however, has denied these allegations.

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