India's Opposition Parties Support Protest Over Alleged Rape, Cremation of 9-Year-Old Girl in Delhi

The nine-year-old girl was allegedly raped, murdered and cremated on Sunday by four men - a priest and three employees of the crematorium in the Nangal area of south-west Delhi.

Opposition parties and youth activists on Tuesday joined an ongoing protest in Delhi to seek justice for a nine-year-old girl from a poor family who was allegedly raped, murdered and cremated.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (South West), Ingit Pratap Singh, a minor form a Dalit family from Delhi's Nangal area told her mother, who is a rag-picker, that she was going to get some drinking water from an electrically operated water cooler at a crematorium nearby. But half an hour later a priest and three men from the crematorium called on the woman to tell her that her daughter had died.

They said that the girl had been electrocuted while taking water from the cooler. They showed her the burn marks on her daughter's wrist and elbow and said her lips had turned blue.

“The four men asked the girl's mother not to inform the police about the death. Instead, they told her that the police would register a case and the body would be sent for autopsy during which doctors would remove her vital organs and sell them," DCP Singh said.

This was all reportedly done without the connivance of the girl's parents, neighbours or siblings. 

After the parents raised the alarm about the incident, villagers launched a protest on Sunday night which continued until Monday, calling for the four arrested men - the 55-year-old priest, Radhey Shyam, and the three crematorium employees, Salim, Laxmi Narayan, and Kuldeep - to be charged with rape and murder. 

— The Mooknayak (@The_Mooknayak) August 3, 2021

​All four accused are known to the girl's mother.

Political Parties Lend Support to the Protest, Raise the Matter in Parliament

The leader of the Azad Samaj Party (ASP), Chandrashekhar Azad, has visited the victim's family in Delhi. 

— Happy Singh (@HappySi79054951) August 3, 2021

— Hemani Bhandari (@HemaniBhandari) August 3, 2021

​Speaking with Sputnik, Suraj Kumar Baudh, spokesman of the ASP, said: "Whenever there is any atrocity against people of the oppressed class, we will stand with the victim's family and question the ruling government." 

"Where are the federal Home Minister Amit Shah and Delhi's chief Arvind Kejriwal? What have they done to ensure the safety and security of the women in the city?" Baudh asked.

On Tuesday, the incident was raised by Congress politician Shaktisinh Gohil, and he gave notice in parliament that the crime ought to be openly talked about. 

"There is an atmosphere of apprehension and fear in the area near south-west Delhi and the matter should be discussed. The government should consider the steps it is taking to bring justice to the girl's family," Gohil told reporters at the parliament. 

— Delhi Congress (@INCDelhi) August 3, 2021

​Similarly, Trinamool Congress politician Derek O'Brien raised the subject in parliament. 

— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) August 3, 2021

​On Monday, Delhi Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam also visited the victim's parents and assured them that the government would "provide the necessary support to the family".

On Twitter, Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party tweeted: "Police should conduct a fair investigation. If not, then the Delhi government will carry out a magisterial enquiry."

— Aam Aadmi Party Delhi (@AAPDelhi) August 2, 2021