A 19-year-old receptionist, whose murder sparked protests in Uttarakhand, was cremated this evening amid massive protests against the police for alleged slow action on the case. The woman, who worked at a resort near Rishikesh, was allegedly murdered by the son of a BJP leader, who has now been sacked.
People from Pauri, the hometown of the teen, came in hundreds to attend the funeral and shouted slogans against the police and the government.
Many women shouted at the police, saying they will stay put till the killers are hanged. The people are extremely angry. They alleged the police have been slow on the case.
Some women were seen crying in anger. "They killed a woman who wanted to earn a decent living," a woman said, before she broke down. "Murdabad," another woman shouted.
"How are we ever going to work outside with this kind of incident happening?" another woman said.
Earlier, the family of the 19-year-old had refused to cremate the body, questioning the demolition of the resort where she worked. They said it was an attempt to destroy evidence in the case in which the son of a senior BJP leader -- now expelled -- is the prime accused.
The teen was murdered allegedly by the hotel's owner, the BJP leader's son, and two others after she resisted their alleged attempts to push her into prostitution. Initially, she was reported missing and her body was recovered from a canal yesterday.