Over 90 retired bureaucrats have written an open letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressing grave concern over the handling of the alleged gang-rape incident in Hathras and stating that Adityanath's actions over the past three-and-a-half years give them little reason to believe that the decisions taken in this case are motivated by respect for the rule of law.
“Just when we thought that nothing could numb our consciences and brains further, the handling of the Hathras incident by the Uttar Pradesh administration has shown that, as a nation, we are plumbing the depths of depravity and callousness in governance,” said the letter, signed by 92 retired bureaucrats, including retired IAS, IPS and IFS officers.
Extremely critical of the handling of the Hathras incident, they said while a young dalit woman was brutally violated, almost three weeks after the incident, the police are yet to confirm rape and “are still spinning theories around it” although the video of what amounts to her dying declaration seems to confirm it.
They said that while she had serious injuries, instead of promptly admitting her to a hospital with advanced facilities for dealing with trauma, she was allowed to languish in the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Aligarh. “She was moved to Delhi only two weeks after the incident, that too on the request of her family, a case of too little, too late,” they wrote.
With regard to the controversial cremation of the woman by the police in the middle of the night, they said what was witnessed after her death was an even greater travesty of justice and basic human values. “After her death, her body was despatched post haste to her village and cremated in the dead of night by policemen. Being a person attached to a persuasion of the Hindu faith, you would be well aware that Hindu customs require the nearest kin to offer agni to the mortal remains. Both the sacred traditions and the family's pleas that they would perform the cremation in the morning were ignored,” they said.
They took note of reports that a policeman told the bereaved family that they were also to blame, and said the District Magistrate has apparently been captured on video making veiled threats to the family that they should be careful about their statements to the media, because the officials would be around even after the media departs.
Noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly asked Adityanath to fast track the case to secure an early conviction, the retired bureaucrats said that with their experience as erstwhile administrators in different departments of the central and state governments, they had, in the past, highlighted the brazen violations of the rule of law in the Unnao rape case and in the murder of the police inspector in Bulandshahr.
“We note with concern that, even after two years, the ghastly murder of a brother officer has not stirred the UP police and your administration to bring the case to closure. In these circumstances, we may be forgiven for viewing UP’s fast track justice system with scepticism,” they said, adding that they were, in fact, concerned with the “novel interpretations” of fast track justice in the state.
“In recent days, we have seen two instances where alleged criminals have met their deaths while being transported by the police to Uttar Pradesh. Even if they were guilty of the offences listed against them, they were entitled, under the Constitution of India and the laws of the land, to a fair trial. Denial of this right amounts to violation of Article 21 of the Constitution,” they said.
On the Hathras incident, they said all those complicit in violations of law and tradition must be punished. “While it is in the order of things that you have suspended the Superintendent of Police, there are adequate grounds for immediate suspension of the District Magistrate as well; we insist that departmental proceedings against them be started at the earliest. Action under Section 4 of The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 must be initiated against all those officers and men of the district police and the executive magistracy who have wilfully neglected the duties enjoined on them under this Act,” they wrote.
They said the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police have failed abjectly in exercising control over a highly compromised administration. However, they said that ultimately all responsibility rests with Adityanath as the chief executive of the state. “Your actions over the past three-and-a-half years give us little reason to believe that your actions are motivated by respect for the rule of law,” they said.
“We urge you to conduct your administration in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Constitution of India, to which you have sworn allegiance when you assumed office. In the present instance, we hope you will deliver justice to the victim and her family, without fear or favour, despite the efforts of specific upper caste groups to interfere with the course of justice. We also hope you will ensure that officers of your administration implement the rule of law in a just and fair manner,” they wrote.
They criticised the chief minister for the “draconian” measures taken against anti-CAA protesters, including detention and levy of punitive fines. “You seem to believe in combining the roles of judge and executioner, as evidenced in a recent interview where you advocated the philosophy of `an eye for an eye,'” they said.
They further criticised him for ordering, some months ago, withdrawal of cases registered against him in the past.
