BJP IT chief shares video of Hathras rape victim, Congressman reveals identity, pays tribute with fake picture; Find out what the law says about protecting the identity of victims

New Delhi, October 3: Several politicians have revealed the identity of the Hathras rape victim on social media platforms. Amit Malviya, who heads the IT department of the Bharatiya Janata Party, shared a video of the 19-year-old girl from Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, who died on September 29 after being allegedly gang-raped. Amit Malviya’s action has apparently revealed the identity of the Hathras girl who is an alleged victim of sexual assault. Meanwhile, Pudducherry Chief Minister and Congress MP V Narayanasamy also revealed the identity of the victim while paying tributes to her. Hathras Girl Was Not Raped, Says Uttar Pradesh Police Citing FSL Report (Watch Video)

Also read | Bihar Assembly Elections 2020: Grand alliance close to finalizing seat-sharing agreement, RJD contests 138-144 seats, Congress 68-70, Left 29 in May

Sharing the video of the Hathras girl, Malviya tweeted, “Haathras victim’s interaction with a reporter outside AMU in which she claimed there was an attempt to strangle her neck. None of this is intended to diminish the atrocity of the crime, but rather it is unfair to gloss over and demean the gravity of one heinous crime against another.” Apparently, the BJP leader wanted to point out that the girl was not raped. But to make his point clear, Malviya shared the video of the girl revealing her identity. Hathras Gangrape: Have you slept for two weeks? Priyanka Gandhi asks Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath.

Amit Malviya shares video of Hathras victim:

Also read | Hathras gang rape: Media allowed to enter victim’s village, SDM denies reports of confiscation of relatives’ mobile phones

Amit Malviya shares video of Hathras victim (Image credit: Twitter)

V Narayanasamy shared two pictures on Twitter on Saturday and said he paid tribute to the Hathras sacrifice. Narayanasamy is seen paying his respects in front of a fake picture of the victim. Furthermore, he mentioned the girl’s widely used name in his tweet. A few days back, Nirmal Kumar, IT cell CTR of BJP in Tamil Nadu, also shared a video of the Hathras girl in which he said, “She speaks fluently. Her tongue was not cut off. Neither of them mentions anything about ‘rape’.”

V Narayanasamy pays tribute to Hathras victim with fake picture of her:

V Narayanasamy pays tribute to Hathra’s sacrifice with a fake picture of her (Image credit: Twitter)

Here’s what the Rape Victims Identity Protection Act says:

According to Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code, it is illegal to reveal the identity of a rape victim. Section 228A of the IPC states: “Whoever prints or publishes the name or other particulars which may reveal the identity of any person against whom an offense under Section 376, Section 376A, Section 376B, Section 376C or Section 376D is alleged or established .” (hereinafter referred to as “victims” in this section) shall be punished with a prison sentence of any kind not exceeding two years and may also be punished with a fine.”

All of the above sections deal with non-consensual sex or rape. The 19-year-old Dalit died on September 29 at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. She was found abused on September 14th. According to reports, in her statement to the police, she alleged rape by four upper-caste men.