'Media Will Leave, We Will Be Here': Hathras DM Seen Intimidating Rape Victim's Family

Hathras District Magistrate Praveen Laxkar was caught on camera threatening the rape victim's father as he asked him to comply with the government. The video was shared by Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on October 1 evening.

The family of the victim, who succumbed to her injuries at a Delhi hospital after she was allegedly gang-raped in Hathras, also alleged they were being forced by the district administration against changing their statement.

The girl's father also demanded a CBI probe into the matter.

"Half of the media people have left today, the other half will leave by tomorrow. Only we will stand with you. It is up to you whether you want to change your statement or not," Laxkar could be heard saying in the video.

Sharing the video, Surjewala wrote, "Listen to what the DM of Hathras told the girl's father. 'The media is here today, they will leave tomorrow. They will all go away. Listen to the government.' Shame. Is this a threat or not?"

The district magistrate, however, on Thursday dismissed all allegations pertaining to his interaction with the family.

"I met with six family members of the victim yesterday and we spoke for about an hour and a half. I met with them again today to see their point of discontent. I deny the negative rumours which are rife about my interactions with them," he said.

The father claimed he was forced to going to a police station where the district magistrate and police officials asked three members of his family sign some document. "But we are not satisfied with this. My daughter's case should be probed by the CBI and monitored by a Supreme Court judge. We are under pressure from officials and confined to our home while the media has also been disallowed from meeting us," he said in a video shared by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The 19-year-old Dalit woman was raped in a village in UP's Hathras by four men on September 14.

The woman had died two weeks after she was brutalised. She had suffered multiple fractures, injuries and a gash in her tongue.

She was admitted to Aligarh Muslim University's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital and shifted to Safdarjung Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday.

UP police cremated the woman in Hathras during the early hours of Wednesday, without the presence of her family or relatives.

All four accused, upper-caste men from the woman's village, are now in jail and will also be charged with murder.

Meanwhile, the UP police is under the scanner over alleged lapses throughout the case, and the rush to cremate the girl's body with the family's knowledge.

"Their main point of apprehension is that the convicted must be punished and be hanged to death. I tried to allay their fears and told them that the matter would be tried in a fast track court," the father added.

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