'Priest, aide raped, killed girl because she was Dalit'

New Delhi: The Delhi Police in their chargesheet in the Delhi Cantonment rape and murder case of a Dalit girl, have quoted public witnesses to say that the accused, a crematorium priest and his associate, had raped and forcibly cremated her because she was "Dalit by caste", according to a report. The report said that the chargesheet has quoted public witnesses in the case, who had been told this by the accused.

The two witnesses quoted in the chargesheet said that they saw the accused — priest Radhe Shyam and Kuldeep Singh carrying the girl's body but had thought nothing was out of place at the time. One of the witnesses said he first got to know about the incident through a phone call and that when he reached the crematorium, a crowd had gathered. He went on to say that the four accused then sought his help to cremate the body and said they had raped and murdered the 9-year-old girl. The witness then said that he asked them why they had done so, to which Shyam and Kuldeep said because she was a Dalit.