In India, the family of a Dalit (so called ‘untouchable’) girl who died after she was gang raped, say the authorities had forcefully cremated her body without their consent.

The 19-year-old’s body was cremated in the dead of the night, using petrol, which goes against Hindu cremation norms. Al Jazeerah reports nearly two dozen police and other officials were present, but not the girl’s family. The girl’s brother said, “We told the administration we want to cremate her in the morning as per Hindu rituals, but they did not listen to us. They locked us inside our home and burned her body.” He added, “We kept shouting from inside the house, but they cremated her using petrol. Petrol is never used for the last rites, but why would they care?”. Her family says they were not allowed to see her face one last time.

The girl had been raped in a field near her village home on September 14, in Uttar Pradesh. According to Al Jazeerah, she suffered paralysis due to severe injuries to her spinal cord. She died in a New Delhi hospital two weeks later. Television broadcasts showed the girls family hanging onto the ambulance which transported her body to the village.

Brahm Singh, a senior police official claimed that the girl’s family had given permission for her cremation. Singh said, “There was a risk of a law and order situation getting out of hand in the village. So, we asked the family members for their permission to cremate the body at night and they allowed the same.” Meanwhile, according to Al Jazeerah, a senior Uttar Pradesh police official on Thursday claimed the victim was not even raped but had died from an injury to her neck. The victim’s family have accused the authorities of trying to cover up the case.

Four suspects have been arrested. All belong to upper castes in India’s caste system hierarchy.

Umm Muhammed Umar