Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal on Wednesday wrote a letter to Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and the judges of the Supreme Court, demanding “strictest and swiftest” punishment for the accused in the Hathras gangrape case. Maliwal also called for action against officials who tried to “cover up” the incident.
Maliwal’s letter came amid countrywide outrage over the death of a 19-year-old Dalit woman from Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district and the way she was cremated. Two weeks ago, the woman was tortured and raped by four men. The woman’s family said that the police forcibly cremated her body around 3 am on Wednesday and that they were not allowed to take her body home.
“I am writing this letter to you with my head bowed in shame, my heart filled with sorrow and grief and my body chilling with pain and anger,” Maliwal wrote. “The…