A year on, India Dalit rape victim’s family waits for justice

Family of 19-year-old girl, who was gang-raped and murdered, says the hope for justice is fading as the case drags on.

Hathras, India – The gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in a village in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh last September had caused a public outcry and weeks of protests.

But a year on, the family of the victim has told Al Jazeera that their hopes for justice are fading as the case has dragged on. Of the 104 witnesses only 15 have deposed in the court so far, said Seema Kushwaha, the victim’s lawyer.

The case made it to global media headlines after the body of the girl was cremated in Hathras, about 200km (125 miles) from the national capital, New Delhi, in the early hours of September 30 last year without the family’s consent.