'Remains of Dalit girl cremated by parents'

New Delhi: The cremation of the remaining human tissue and feet of the Dalit girl, who was allegedly raped and killed in southwest Delhi's Old Nangal area, was conducted on Wednesday by her parents, the police here said, as locals insisted on protesting outside the crematorium where the last rites took place.

The girl died under suspicious circumstances on August 1, with her parents alleging that she was gangraped by the local priest and three of his associates, who then killed her and then burnt her body on a pyre without the parents' permission.

"The girl's parents received her mortal remains from Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital. They performed the cremation at Old Nangal crematorium in the presence of 15 to 20 people known to them," Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Ingit Pratap Singh said.

Significantly, the final rites of the 9-year-old girl was conducted on a pyre right next to the one on which she was allegedly burnt on the day of the crime. On Wednesday, as family and friends gathered for the last rites, a long police crime scene tap lingered in the background.

During the cremation, around 25 to 30 people from the nearby tent, where a protest against the incident was going on, tried to intrude. The girl's parents, however, objected and the police asked them to leave, DCP Singh said.

The agitated locals, along with the parents of the girl, had blocked a road in the area demanding justice. However, the city police have since cleared one stretch of the road even as calls for justice continue to grow louder.

The tragic incident has led to a nationwide outcry with many political leaders visiting the parents of the victim. The case was later transferred to the Crime Branch.

The four accused in the case was remanded in the custody of the Delhi Police for three days on Monday, officials said.