New Delhi: A letter written by Sandeep Singh, the man who was the first accused in the Hathras case, claims that he knew the rape-murder victim and that her family objected to their relationship.
He said that the 19-year-old Dalit girl was ‘a good friend’ and he would talk to her on the phone often.
He has alleged that the girlās family didnāt like their friendship and had raised objection to it. Sandeep Singh has written that on the day of incident on 14 September, he met the girl in the field.
“Came to know from the villagers that the girl was beaten up by her family members and she was injured. She later succumbed,” said Sandeep Singh in the letter to probe agencies.
In the letter, which bears thumb impressions of Sandeep and the other three accused, Sandeep writes, “She belonged to my village. I was friends with her. Sometimes, she would talk to me over the phone. Her family did not like it.”
Rakesh, the father of one of the other accused, Ramkumar (alias Ramu), said, “It was common knowledge in the village that the deceased and Sandeep knew each other. This was not acceptable to the families, and Sandeepās family had sent him away. On the day of the incident, he had come to the village and was talking to her when her mother noticed them.”
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted, “Creating a narrative that defames a womanās character and holding her somehow responsible for crimes committed against her is revolting and regressive. A heinous crime has been committed at Hathras, leaving a 20-year-old dalit woman deadā¦. Her body has been burned without the participation or consent of her family. SHE DESERVES JUSTICE NOT SLANDER”.