Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra finally managed to reach Hathras and met the family of the 19-year-old victim who died recently after she was allegedly gang raped. They hspent an hour at their residence and extended their support and condolences to the family.
“She (Priyanka) sat with me, asked me about my daughter, how she died, what happened on September 14…. She asked about her cremation,” said the victim’s mother after meeting the Congress leaders. “They just asked us about our daughter, and promised to help us get justice,” she added.
Over 50 UP cops and joint magistrate Prem Prakash were present at the residence when the two leaders reached. After exiting Delhi NCR, the Gandhis had a clash with cops at the Delhi-UP border before entering the village.
The two leaders promised to fight until they get justice. “No force can silence us,” said Rahul Gandhi after leaving the village. “Wherever something wrong happens, we will be there to ensure justice is served. No one can stop us,” said Mrs. Vadra.
Mr. Gandhi made second and successful attempt to meet the victim’s family. Earlier, he had ended up in a brawl with cops on Thursday when he tried to meet the family. Cops heaved him to the ground and refused to enter citing the ban on large gatherings due to coronavirus pandemic. Later, Derek O’Brien, another opposition leader from Trinamool Congress, was also manhandled when he tried to speak to the victim’s family.
UP government and UP Police have been facing criticism since the inappropriate cremation of the dead body of the victim, misbehavior with the family, and manhandling of the tragic case. A massive force of around 200 cops was deployed at Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND). Initially, media persons were not allowed to enter the village. They were allowed entry on Sunday.
Further, a relative of victim alleged the restriction on their outdoor movements and confiscation of their mobile phones. “My family members are being threatened. My uncle asked me to try to reach out to the media. My uncle was assaulted by DM sahib yesterday, after which he fell unconscious,” the relative alleged.
Meanwhile, many opposition leaders including Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, actor Swara Bhaskar, AAP legislator Saurabh Bhardwaj, Bhim Army Chief Chandrasekhar Azad, leaders Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury, hundreds of students, staged protests at Jantar Mantar on Friday to demand justice in the Hathras case.
“The culprits should be punished as soon as possible so that others get scared before committing such crimes. We will go to Hathras and till the time the matter doesn’t come to Delhi, there is no chance of getting justice,” said Bhim Army Chief Azad.
Samajwadi Party workers also staged protests in Hathras and they were lathicharged while marching in Hazratganj area of Lucknow. Social media was flooded with the outrageous pictures and comments against the UP Police and government across the country.
“Today, by arresting party MLAs and senior leaders going to sit on a ‘maun vrat” and dharna for ‘Hathras ki beti’, the government suppressed the voice of truth on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri. This is condemnable,” said SP national president Akhliesh Yadav.
Samajwadi Party further said, “Stopping a peaceful foot march of SP MLAs and leaders on directives of the chief minister is the murder of democracy.”
All the three parties in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP staged protests across the state and raised slogans against the Yogi-led government ruling in UP.
Due to the intense pressure from opposition and public, the UP government has suspended SP, DSP, Inspector and two other officials for mishandling the case.
On Friday, UP CM Yogi Adityanath took his twitter handle to ensure the justice and women’s safety. He tweeted, “Extermination of those thinking of harming the honour and self-respect of women in Uttar Pradesh is certain. They will get such a punishment that will serve as an example for the future. Your UP government is committed to women’s safety and empowerment. This is our pledge, our promise,”