2020 Hathras Gang-Rape-Murder Case: A Timeline

A court in Uttar Pradesh convicted the main accused in the 2020 Hathras gang-rape-murder case on Thursday. The other three accused have been acquitted. According to the officials, Sandeep Thakur has been convicted under culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and not of rape or murder. Whereas, Sandeep's uncle Ravi and their friends Luv Kush and Ramu, were cleared of the charges.

The case pertains to a 20-year-old Dalit woman who died at a Delhi hospital a fortnight after she was allegedly gang-raped in her village. In her statement, the victim had said that she was dragged by her dupatta into the fields when she was cutting grass with her mother and brother. She had suffered multiple fractures and a gash on her tongue. According to doctors, the woman sustained injuries to her neck and was left paralyzed.

The crime had sparked outrage across the country.

Here's a look at the case timeline:

September 14, 2020:  The woman raped and brutally tortured after she goes to work in the fields with her mother in the Bhoolgarhi village. 

September 19: The victim's statement is recorded at JNMC Hospital in Aligarh. She names one accused who is arrested.

September 22: The woman names the other three accused and cases are filed against all four. They are charged with gang rape and attempt to murder. 

September 29: She died at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital in the morning. 

September 30: The victim is forcefully cremated at 2:30 am by policemen after her family is locked up inside their house.

October 11: CBI starts investigating the case.

October 13: The Allahabad High Court notes that the hurried cremation of the woman “is prima facie an infringement upon the human rights of the victim and her family”.

December: The CBI says the victim was gang-raped and killed and filed a chargesheet. The probe agency invokes charges of gang rape and murder under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.