Amid the nationwide outrage that has been surfaced around the gangrapes of two Dalit women in Uttar Pradesh, an MLA from Delhi has made a shocking claim that he was slapped and harassed by the Delhi police when he enquired about the whereabouts of the body of the 19-year-old victim who died on Tuesday. The victim was a native of Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh and she was gang-raped by four upper-caste men a fortnight ago.

The woman had sustained brutal injures where the accused had broken her back, assaulted, and raped her in her native district. Initially, she was getting treated in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, and then she was moved to Delhi for further treatments. However, she had breathed her last on Tuesday, which had sparked massive outrage across the nation with the demand to the Uttar Pradesh government in delivering justice to the victim.

Following her demise, her body was brought to Hathras. The district police have been accused of forcibly cremating the body without paying heed to the request of the family members in taking her body to the home for one last time. The police had directly taken the body to the crematorium and cremated on the midnight house of Wednesday, which further fueled the protests against the state government as the police action has been dubbed as the violation of the right to the funeral. 

Amid the uproar, AAP MLA from Delhi's Ambedkar Nagar constituency Ajay Dutt has now claimed that he was slapped and attacked by the Delhi police when he enquired the whereabouts of the body of the victim. According to reports, he made that claim on Wednesday, and after he asked the police, he was forcefully taken to a room and harassed by the police officials. 

Addressing the reporters, Ajay Dutt said that the police officers took him to a room by pulling his collar and they slapped and kicked him. The officials were at a high rank including the Assistant and Deputy Police commissioners. By citing the treatment given to the elected representative, Dutt questioned what would happen to a common man if an MLA faces such treatment. 

AAP leader and Delhi minister Rajendra Pal Gautam demanded action against the police officers who attacked the MLA for enquiring about the victim. The minister further stated that apart from slapping the legislator, the police officers had used caste slurs against Ajay Dutt. Rajendra Pal Gautam asked how the police would be treating the general public if it treats the legislator in an inhumane way. Ajay Dutt had asked the police on the whereabouts of the body of the victim when her family members and relatives protested before the Delhi hospital after her death. 

According to reports, the police had arrested four people in connection to the gang-rape case and booked a case against them under the grounds of rape and murder. National leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for strict action against the perpetrators. 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had formed a Special Investigative Committee (SIT) to probe the matter and on Wednesday, he had directed the committee to disclose the report in seven days. The Chief Minister had announced a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the family of the victim and assured a job for one of the family members. 

Must-read: Hathras gang-rape: Outrage grows as UP police unfold a drama! PM Modi calls for strict action