On September 29, a 20-year-old woman succumbed to her injuries in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital, two weeks after she was allegedly gang-raped and tortured in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras. On September 30, the Uttar Pradesh police allegedly forcibly performed the last rites of the victim. 

There has been a nationwide outrage over the horrific incident, however, there are several contradictory claims in the case, some even dismissing the rape angle. Here's a look at what actually happened in the Hathras case:

Claim 1: The victim was not raped 

A Twitter user named Vikas Pandey shared a screenshot of a medical examination report and screenshot a tweet by Hathras police, claiming that the victim was not raped or brutally murdered. A number of other social media users are making the same claim. 

The truth behind the claim 

According to the complaint filed by the victim's brother on September 14 at around 10:30 AM, a boy named Sandeep tried to strangulate his sister in the field. After hearing her cry, when their mother reached the spot, the accused fled. The brother has named just one accused (Sandeep) in his first complaint. In the complaint, he has mentioned the time of the incident at 9.30 am, following which, an FIR was registered under the SC/ST Act and Section 307 of IPC.

Since the girl was critically injured she was admitted to Aligarh’s Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, where she started undergoing treatment. Meanwhile, police started investigating the case and on September 19, Sandeep was arrested.

On September 22, the victim recorded her statement and it was then only when the teenager stated that she was gang-raped and named the other three accused. Following the disclosure IPC section, 376 D (charges for gang-raping) was included in the FIR. This series of incidents was also confirmed by the Hathras Police in an official statement released on Twitter. 

The victim's brother said that the first FIR was filed based on his and his mother’s statements. 'My sister was in no condition to give a statement. She was unconscious. Till then we didn’t even know that she has been gang-raped. So obviously we didn’t say anything like that in our statement,' he added.

Further, IG Piyush Mordiya has stated that during the medical examination of the victim, there were no signs of rape. He added that the details have been sent to the forensic science lab in Agra for further examination. The results of which are expected any time soon.

According to an India Today report, the medical report by doctors at JNMCH, Aligarh, where the victim was admitted on September 14 suggested there were signs of use of force, however, opinion regarding penetration intercourse is reserved pending the availability of the forensic report.

The forensic team was also involved will be in a better position to clarify on what evidence they found on the girl’s body that proved rape, said Dr. MF Huda, J N Medical College, AMU. 

Therefore, it will be premature to declare that the victim was 'not gang-raped' as the samples have been sent to the forensic lab and the report is awaited. 

However, the victim's mother told Newslaundry a different version of the incident, saying, "My daughter was lying naked with her tongue protruding from her mouth. Her eyes were bulging out and she was bleeding from her mouth, her neck and there was blood near her eyes. I also noticed bleeding from her vagina. I quickly covered her with the pallu of my saree, and started screaming,"

“I had found her naked and she was bleeding from her vagina. At the time I thought that if I mentioned it, my daughter would not be able to live with dignity for the rest of her life. “But when she herself said it later, we told the police.” her mother added.

The victim's brother is claiming that they did not know about the rape until she gave her statement while her mother is claiming she didn't mention rape to protect her daughter's dignity. These are certainly conflicting statements but it is quite possible that the mother could have hidden it from brother as well.

Therefore, it is not correct to rule out rape based on conflicting statements of mother and brother.

Claim 2. Culprits broke the victim's spinal cord, gouged her eyes, and cut off her tongue

Many social media users also claimed that the culprits broke her spinal cord, gouged her eyes, and cut off her tongue during the brutal rape. However, Police said that the medical reports state that the injuries were inflicted when she was strangulated by the perpetrators.

Dispelling the news which has been doing the rounds on social media, the police said that the girl’s tongue was not cut off by the perpetrators. When she was strangulated her tongue came between her teeth and that’s how it got injured.

According to the India Today report, Dr. MF Huda, J N Medical College, AMU stated that the victim's tongue wasn’t cut. But there was an ulcer on her tongue. That could be a previous injury also. Not necessarily inflicted due to the incident.No other injuries were found on her tongue. She was able to speak.

The Hathras Police also refuted these claims in an official statement released on Twitter. 

However, the victim's brother maintained that her tongue was cut when he saw her. "I saw my sister, I saw her condition. Her neck was broken. Her tongue was cut. Not chopped off entirely but cut. She told me that her tongue got cut as it came between her teeth," he said.

Disputing news reports that the victim’s tongue had been cut off, her mother said when the assaulters strangulated her, her tongue would have protruded out and she would have bitten it hard.

3. The victim was cremated by police in a hurry without the family's permission

The victim died in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital on September 29 after suffering multiple fractures and paralysis. Around 3 am on September 30, photos, and videos from the village surfaced online, which showed a lone pyre, without any family members near it. Reports stated that the police allegedly barricaded the victim's family inside their home and burnt the body.

In response to these reports, Hathras police issued a statement saying that the claim is false. “The last rites of the victim have been performed in presence of family members and according to their customs," the police stated. 

However, several videos have emerged on social media in which the victim's family including her mother can be seen in the inconsolable state, demanding to see their daughter's body and her mortal remains to be taken to her home for the last time.

"We wanted the last rites to be performed according to the Hindu traditions. Despite our protests, the cremation was performed. They took the body forcefully. We couldn't see our daughter's face for the last time," the woman's father told NDTV. 

In a conversation with Times Nows, the victim's mother has clearly stated that they were not allowed to see the mortal remains of the dead body of her daughter. 

In what transpired on September 14, the victim had gone to the field to collect fodder when a group of men attacked her from behind. The teenager was dragged by a dupatta around her neck, which probably caused the spinal injuries, to a field where she was allegedly raped.

Though the post-mortem report is still awaited, Poonam Dhandha, spokesperson of Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi has said the victim had cervical spine injury, quadriplegia, and septicemia.

Hours after the body was cremated, the state government has formed a three-member SIT to investigate the matter.

The team led by the Home Secretary Bhagwan Swaroop along with DIG Chandra Prakash and IPS officer Poonam will submit the first report in the case within seven days. The matter will be heard in the fast track court.

The Uttar Pradesh government has also announced that the family of the Hathras gangrape victim will be given Rs 25 lakh as compensation and a house, and a government job will be given to a member of the family.