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‘No justice for poor while…’: Priyanka Gandhi attacks UP’s Yogi Adityanath govt
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Arun Valmiki’s wife told her that he was beaten by the police in front of her, and he was also subjected to electric shocks.
AGRA: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday launched a bitter attack on Uttar Pradesh’s Bharatiya Janata Party government over the death of the 31-year-old Dalit sanitation worker in police custody after his arrest on charges of theft, saying there was no justice for the poor, Dalits and farmers in UP while sons of ministers are free to commit crimes.
Priyanka Gandhi, who was earlier in the day stopped from proceeding towards Agra, reached Arun Kumar’s house in Agra’s Loha Mandi area town at about 11pm on Wednesday. She interacted with Arun Kumar’s wife and mother, and later with others in the locality where she spent nearly an hour.
The attack on chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s government came soon after.
“There seems to be no justice in the state….Illiterate family members of Arun Valmiki said they were asked to sign a document…. Their house was ransacked by the police, beds were damaged, clothes were thrown away,” she told reporters after meeting the sanitation worker who belonged to the Valmiki community.
“I’ve met Arun’s family members. His wife told me that her husband was beaten in front of her... He was given electric shocks,” said Priyanka Gandhi who left Lucknow for Agra at 3pm but was stopped at the Lucknow-Agra Expressway on the grounds that the Agra administration has requested political leaders to refrain from visiting the area. Following her release, she left for Agra with Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Ajay Kumar Lallu and senior party leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam.
“What kind of nation are we becoming? We are quiet on injustice to the poor, the government is silent. A man is kept in custody and tortured, his family is harassed for four days. The family made it clear that they want justice and will not remain silent after receiving ₹10 lakh compensation given by the state government,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in Agra.
The Congress leader said she will reach out to the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan “to give Arun Valmiki’s family compensation” since the deceased’s family has links with Bharatpur also.
The deceased’s family earlier demanded a compensation of ₹1 crore, a government job and action against the policemen concerned.
According to the Agra Police, Arun Kumar died in police custody after his health suddenly deteriorated during interrogation late on Tuesday. He was arrested on charges of stealing ₹25 lakh from maal khana (storage room where confiscated items are kept) of Jagdishpura police station in Agra on Sunday.
“Kumar was picked up from the Tajganj area on Tuesday and during interrogation, he admitted to his involvement in the theft and said that the stolen cash was kept in his house. A police team recovered ₹15 lakh cash from his house. However, during the recovery, he suddenly fell ill and was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared ‘brought dead’ by doctors,” Muniraj G, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Agra, said.
Earlier in the day, BJP leader and UP minister Sidharth Nath Singh hit out at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, alleging that Congress leaders were hatching conspiracy to destabilise law and order in the state. “Why doesn’t Priyanka speak out about that family in Hanumangarh, Rajasthan which is still waiting for justice? There a Dalit youth was beaten to death and in Chhattisgarh devotees were run over under a jeep. Both are Congress ruled states but Priyanka has never spoken on them. Why these dual standards,” he asked, asserting that the UP government suspended the police personnel responsible for the Dalit’ mans death. “Under Yogi government it is clear that law doesn’t discriminate against people.”
