Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Friday said that his organisation will continue its struggle till Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath resigns over the Hathras gangrape, which has triggered shock and grief across the nation, ANI reported. Azad took part in a protest against the crime at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

“I will visit Hathras,” Azad said at the protest. “Our struggle will continue till the time Uttar Pradesh chief minister resigns and justice is served. I urge the Supreme Court to take cognizance of the incident.”

The Bhim Army chief also said that the woman was “burnt like garbage”, according to The Indian Express. “The police burnt her with petrol even though the family did not give permission,” he said. “She was burnt like garbage. They have no right to do that.”

Azad was part of the protest in Delhi, which was joined by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and several leaders of his Aam Aadmi Party. Hundreds of people gathered at Jantar Mantar to demand justice for the woman. Communist Party of India General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav were also part of the protest.

The UP government, meanwhile, suspended Hathras Superintendent of Police Vikrant Vir and four other police officers amid growing public outcry.

The case

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday claimed that the woman’s forensic lab report showed that she was not raped. Experts, however, pointed out that since the samples for the test were collected days after the crime, sperm would not be present, NDTV reported. The autopsy report of the woman showed that she was strangled and suffered cervical spine injury, according to the news channel. The final diagnosis did not mention rape but pointed out that there were tears in her genitalia.

Later in the day, the Allahabad High Court took suo motu cognisance of the Hathras gangrape case and directed top government officials and the police to appear before it on October 12. The judges said that the case had shocked their conscience.

Two weeks ago, the Dalit woman was tortured and raped by four upper caste men. The woman died on Tuesday at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. She had suffered multiple fractures and other serious injuries when the four accused raped her in her village on September 14. The four men have been arrested. However, the woman was hastily cremated on Wednesday midnight, without allowing her family to perform the last rites.