Mamata Banerjee lashes out at BJP government in UP over Hathras incident

Addressing a government programme in North Bengal, Banerjee equated the burning of the dead body of the girl with Sita's 'Agnipariksha'.

"As Goddess Sita had to go through 'Agni Pariksha', the Dalit woman who died after being gang-raped and brutalised in Hathras was put on a funeral pyre in the dead of the night," Banerjee said as quoted by media.

"In Uttar Pradesh, not only the victim was raped then her body was burnt. If there is a crime Police should investigate. What kind of rule is this?" she added.

Earlier in the day, the CM had tweeted, "Have no words to condemn the barbaric & shameful incident at Hathras involving a young Dalit girl. My deepest condolences to the family. More shameful is the forceful cremation without the family’s presence or consent, exposing those who use slogans & lofty promises for votes."

The Yogi Adityanath government has come under attack after the 19-year old in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras was dragged by her dupatta, gangraped by four men, got her spinal cord damaged and her tongue cut.

Two weeks after the incident, which occurred on Sept 14, the girl succumbed to her injuries at a Delhi hospital on Tuesday morning.

In an even more shocking incident in Uttar Pradesh, the law and order of which has often come under the scanner, the dead body of the girl was cremated by police officials in the dead of night denying the family members a look at the victim for the last time.