Tweeting a photograph where Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is seen being manhandled while on her way to meet the family of the Hathras gang-rape victim, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday asked if there were no woman police officers in Uttar Pradesh.
Raut raised the question in a tweet by sharing a picture where a male police officer is seen grabbing Priyanka Gandhi’s kurta near her shoulder. The photograph was from earlier on Saturday when a delegation of Congress leaders comprising Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi left for Hathras village in their second attempt to meet the 19-year-old woman’s family.
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi had announced their plans to visit Hathras to meet the aggrieved family of the Dalit woman, who was gang-raped by four men on September 14. She later succumbed to her injuries two weeks later on Tuesday at a hospital in Delhi.
{{/usCountry}}Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi had announced their plans to visit Hathras to meet the aggrieved family of the Dalit woman, who was gang-raped by four men on September 14. She later succumbed to her injuries two weeks later on Tuesday at a hospital in Delhi.
{{/usCountry}}Also read | ‘Will continue to fight till justice is served’: Priyanka Gandhi in Hathras
After their visit, the Congress leaders said their party stands with the family. Priyanka Gandhi consoled the victim’s mother and said that they will together stand strong in the face of injustice against the family. “The family couldn’t see their daughter for the one last time. UP CM Yogi Adityanath should understand his responsibility. Till the time justice is delivered, we’ll continue this fight,” she said after meeting the victim’s family.
Rahul Gandhi said that the state government must protect the grieving family. “I stand with the family. It is the responsibility of the state government to ensure their safety,” he said.
The leaders stayed with the family for over an hour after they reached Hathras around 6.45pm following a series of dramatic events, including their brief detention by the UP police on Thursday on grounds of violating Section 144 and the coronavirus pandemic laws.
On Saturday, the Congress delegation was stopped on their way at the Delhi-Noida border, triggering a minor altercation between the party’s workers and the police officers deployed at the border. Scores of police personnel in riot gear were lined up at the Delhi-Noida Direct flyway to prevent the Congress convoy from moving to Hathras, about 180km away.
Also read: Nation wants justice for India’s daughter, tweets Rahul Gandhi hours after visiting Hathras
Eventually, as swarms of Congress workers and others jostled with each other amid loud honking, slogan shouting and Congress flags fluttering in the air, the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police finally allowed five people, including Rahul Gandhi, to go to Hathras. Congress workers – some who described what happened as “brutal repression” -- claimed police used batons to disperse the crowd.
(With inputs from PTI)