After meeting with family members of the Hathras gang rape victim on Saturday night, Congressional Leader Rahul Gandhi said the state government must protect the grieving family. “I’m with family. It is the responsibility of the state government to ensure their safety, “said the leader of Congress after the meeting that lasted for more than 30 minutes.
“The family needs protection,” said Priyanka Gandhi, who had a face-to-face conversation with the victim’s mother when the Gandhis were inside the victim’s home. “The family could not see their daughter for the last time. UP CM Yogi Adityanath must understand his responsibility. Until justice is served, we will continue this fight, ”Priyanka said.
Also read: ‘We will keep fighting until justice is served’: Priyanka Gandhi after meeting the family of Hathras gang rape victim
After a series of dramatic incidents, Congressional leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrived in Hathras on Saturday night around 7pm. Security was tightened around the residence of the gang rape victim who died at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi on September 29 after allegedly being raped by four upper caste men. This was his second attempt to reunite with family members, the first being thwarted by Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday, under the guise of Section 144.
At noon on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi left for Hathras by road. At least 35 other congressional leaders, including some MPs, were also addressing Hathras. The Congressional cavalcade was met with a heavy deployment of security personnel at the Delhi-Noida border, where it was decided that Rahul, Priyanka and some Congressional leaders would be allowed into Uttar Pradesh. Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accompanied the Gandhis.
The Gandhis’ visit to Hathras comes a day after Uttar Pradesh police detained a delegation from Trinamool, drawing criticism even from veteran BJP leader Uma Bharti. AIIMS BJP leader Hrishikesh, where she is admitted for Covid-19 treatment, tweeted, urging Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to allow opposition leaders in Hathras as police conduct UP was “getting a bad name for the BJP government and also for the UP government. “
On Friday, Uttar Pradesh Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the suspension of Hathras Police Superintendent Vikrant Vir and three other police officers for their handling of the case. The government also decided that “narcoanalysis polygraph tests” would be carried out on everyone involved in the case, including the victim’s family.
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