Updated: October 3, 2020 4:36:05 am
The town itself and the surrounding area had at least 250 police officers.
More than 300 Uttar Pradesh Police personnel, 17 police vehicles and five barricades. The village of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died on September 29 after she was brutally assaulted and allegedly ganged up on, has been turned into a virtual fortress by the state government, to ensure that no one enters.
In town, the 19-year-old’s family told The Indian Express that they had been locked inside their home for two days and that authorities may be monitoring their phones. “DM-ji aaye aur kaha ki jab media yahan nahin to aapke video kaise viral ho rahe hain (The district magistrate came and said that when the media was not allowed in, how were our videos going viral),” he said the brother, in a short and hasty telephone conversation. “Lagta hai unhone call detail pe laga diye (It seems they are listening to our phones)”.
The first barricades are about 2.5 km from the village, located in the Hathras district, blocking three entrances. It is in one of these that Trinamool Congressional MPs Derek O’Brien, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Pratima Mandal and former MP Mamata Thakur collided with a wall of police and district officials on Friday.
Around 12.20 p.m. M., When the deputies tried to enter, O’Brien was pushed by officials blocking the passage, including Hathras Deputy Magistrate Prem Prakash Meena, and fell. “We were pushed by policewomen, we requested that only two of us be allowed to go. Mamata Banerjee sent us here and we will be back, ”said Dastidar. Meena declined to comment on the episode.
On Thursday, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had been prevented from going to the village.
“We have been asked to make sure that no one enters: the media, the party leaders, even the locals. There is a hospital inside, so there is a problem if someone wants to go there. We are letting milk vans in, ”a senior officer told The Indian Express.
While Police Superintendent Vikrant Vir, who was suspended later that day, and District Magistrate Praveen Kumar Laxkar did not respond to calls and messages, IG, Aligarh Range, Piyush Mordia told the media: “So far in Whether the SIT is present in the district is a delicate matter. As soon as the SIT leaves, the blockade will be lifted and you can visit it freely. “
The policemen wore riot gear and helmets and wore lathis. “Apart from all the police stations in Hathras, police personnel from Mathura, Agra, Aligarh, Kasganj and Etah have been deployed. We have been on 12-hour duty for three days, ”said the senior officer.
The family’s fear that their phones were being monitored came a day after a video surfaced online that allegedly showed DM Laxkar telling them that while it was their responsibility to “change their statements,” “the administration could also change. “. Laxkar told ANI that he had met with the family to allay their fears regarding the investigation.
The family said they were only allowed to meet with officials, including SIT, district authorities and police personnel.
While The Indian Express made multiple calls Friday to the victim’s brothers, aunt, cousins and uncles, only one of the brothers answered. His phone was also turned off later.
A boy, claiming to be the victim’s cousin, managed to climb over the barricades on a side road at around 10:30 a.m. He said: “There are a lot of police inside, especially outside the house. They ask us not to talk to anyone. The family desperately wants to speak to the media. We haven’t even gone shopping. There are also policemen on the roof. “
At around 4 in the afternoon, a paternal uncle and an aunt of the victim, who came from another village, were arrested. They were only allowed in after the aunt told the police: “We have not been able to speak with the family. We can’t reach their numbers. We are worried.”
The town itself and the surrounding area had at least 250 police officers. The senior officer said that at least four units of the Provincial Armed Police (PAC) were also deployed, about 48 men.
The Indian Express saw at least 12 UP Police vehicles, three trucks and two buses from the PAC, and two fire trucks. Occasionally, private and government vehicles were allowed through with uniformed police personnel.
A resident of the town, who was at his store on the outskirts, told The Indian Express: “There are police everywhere, on farms, on every lane, on some terraces too.” He left home at 7 a.m. on Friday instead of the usual 9:30 a.m. to make sure he could open his store. “The police have told us to move early, they have also told us not to talk to the media… They have warned us not to congregate as Section 144 has been implemented. No one ventures out; many are hearing from the news about the great display. “
At around 3pm, a lineman was seen trying to convince the police to let him in, but to no avail.
When it got dark, the blockade didn’t stop. A policeman said: “The shift changes at 8 pm. We have been ordered to patrol the town, the roads and the farms, and also keep watch at night.
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