A CBI team that visited the village of the Hathras victim on Tuesday took away one of her two brothers for several hours.
The brother returned after three hours and told reporters that he had been taken to the “CBI office” and that sleuths took his signature on packets of evidence collected during the investigation earlier in the day, such as blood-marked earth and footwear. He said the CBI did not ask him any questions after taking him to its office. Local police escorted the brother back home.
After the five-member CBI team had left in the afternoon, taking him with them, his father had hoped the son would be back soon.
“The CBI members said they were taking my son to Chandpa police station because they would ask him some questions about the complaint he had lodged there after the incident. They said he would also be required to be present when they ask the police about the allegation that there was a delay in recording the gang-rape charge,” the father said.
The CBI sleuths on Tuesday were at the crime scene for about three hours, recreating the events of September 14.
Villagers said that 20 minutes into the investigation, the CBI team on Tuesday sent for the other brother of the victim. The brother was told to return home after half an hour, after which the victim’s mother was called.
The mother had been taken to hospital earlier in the day after she had complained of chest pain. She remained with the sleuths for about 30 minutes before being allowed to go home.
According to the family of the victim, the mother is the only witness of the crime. She and her daughter had been working in two corners of a field when the 19-year-old was assaulted. The mother had told the police that she had heard her daughter’s cries and rushed to see the four men sexually assaulting her.
The CBI team, having a woman officer and accompanied by two forensic experts and over 20 policemen, also visited the agricultural field where the girl’s body was burnt by the police around 2:30am on September 30 against the wishes of her family. The investigators spent around 25 minutes in the field before going to the house of the victim.
