Gurugram, Oct 1 (IANS): Multiple workers' unions and women outfits took to the streets in Gurugram demanding justice for the 19-year-old Hathras gang rape victim.

Peaceful protests began in the district on Thursday under the banner of the Municipal Employees' Union of Haryana. The protesters also burned the effigy of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the main gate of the mini secretariat building and sought his resignation for the rising crime graph against women in Uttar Pradesh.

Marches were taken out from Agrasen Chowk in old Gurugram to the mini secretariat by the protesters and union workers in support of the victim.

The workers' unions also submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister through the Gurugram Deputy Commissioner (DC) and demanded strict punishment for the culprits.

They said that the rape of the Hathras Dalit woman was not the only such incident and that under the BJP government life had turned into a nightmare for women. The protesters also lashed out at the UP police for cremating the victim's body despite her family wanting to perform the last rites.

"We demand the resignation of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and arrest and punishment of senior UP police and district administration officials under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, for the secret midnight cremation of the Dalit rape victim of Hathras," a member of the union, Ram Singh said.

The protesters were also demanding that the case should be transferred to a Delhi fast track court so that the victim's family gets justice at the earliest and the culprits should be hanged till death.

Meanwhile, the Gurugram police have beefed up security across the district to avoid any untoward incident.

"A sufficient number of police forces have been deployed at multiple locations across the city for security purposes. We have told the force to keep an eye on anti-social elements," said a senior police official on the condition of anonymity.