The Hathras police investigating the alleged rape incident transferred the case papers to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which will now register a case and proceed with the probe.
In the meantime, the Uttar Pradesh government extended the term of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for ten more days as its probe was still inconclusive.
Sources said that all the FIRs related to the Hathras case had been transferred to the CBI after the agency agreed to take over the case though the case is yet to be registered by the central agency.
The UP government recommended a CBI probe into the Hathras incident on Saturday last and the letter to the Union Home Ministry was sent immediately thereafter.
However, the CBI accepted to take over the case on Tuesday after the matter came up for hearing in the Supreme Court and the UP government suggested that the apex court could monitor the investigation by the CBI.
However, the family of the victim has opposed the CBI probe and has demanded a judicial investigation while protesting against the UP government’s suggestion for a narco test of the family, accused and even of the policemen concerned.
A UP government communiqué also confirmed that the SIT had been given 10 more days to complete the probe. The SIT was set up on September 30 and given a week’s time to submit its report.
On the basis of a preliminary report of the SIT, the government had suspended five policemen, including the superintendent of police of Hathras.
Meanwhile, the UP police on Wednesday booked four persons, including a Kerala journalist, Siddique Kappan, on sedition and other charges at Maant police station in Mathura, two days after they were held while on way to Hathras.
According to the FIR, charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the IT Act have also been slapped against the four, who are accused by the UP police of having links with the alleged radical group Popular Front of India and its affiliates.
The four were identified as Kappan, a journalist of Malappuram in Kerala, Atiq-ur-Rehman of Muzaffarnagar, Masood Ahmad of Bahraich and Alam of Rampur.
They were on Wednesday booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious belief), according to the FIR.
The PFI has been accused of funding protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act across the country earlier this year and the UP police had sought a ban on the outfit.
The four were held when, according to the police, they were on their way to Hathras where a Dalit woman had died after allegedly being gang-raped.
Meanwhile, in yet another twist to the Hathras case, the Uttar Pradesh Police alleged that funding of around Rs 50 crore was sourced by the Popular Front of India (PFI) from Mauritius to incite casteist violence in Hathras.
The Enforcement Directorate had earlier said that it would seek all files from the UP Police and look into the financial angles.
An FIR was also filed against Congress leader Shyoraj Jivan Valmiki, who was caught on camera allegedly inciting caste riots.