Hathras: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met the family of a Dalit woman here who died allegedly after being gangraped in September 2020, and alleged that the family is being treated like ‘criminals’.
The Congress MP reached Bool Garhi village around 11:15am, even as police stepped up deployment in and around the hamlet in the Chandpa area of the district in light of his visit.
The family had reached out to Gandhi earlier this year, seeking his support in getting “justice”, according to the Congress which shared a letter addressed to the LoP by the woman’s father.
Gandhi spent around 35 minutes with the family at their home and interacted with them. He left without speaking to a waiting group of reporters who had gathered in the village for his visit.
Later, in a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi attacked the BJP government alleging that it did not fulfil promises made to the family, which is living “in fear” and being treated like “criminals”.
“Today I went to Hathras and met the victim’s family of the shameful and unfortunate incident that happened four years ago. The things they told me during the meeting shook me.
“The entire family is still living in fear. They are being treated like criminals. They cannot move freely. They are kept under the surveillance of cameras and guns all the time,” Gandhi said.
The Congress leader also alleged that the promises made to them by the BJP government have not been fulfilled till date. “Neither have they been given a government job nor has the promise of shifting them to another place been fulfilled,” he added.
Gandhi said instead of giving justice to the victim’s family, the government is “torturing” them in various ways while the accused are roaming freely.
“The frustration and despair of this family shows the truth of the atrocities being committed on Dalits by the BJP. But we will not let this family be forced to live like this. We will fight with all our might to get them justice,” he said.
After Gandhi’s visit, Congress’ former Hathras unit chief Chandragupta Vikramaditya told reporters, “Rahul Gandhi has a relation with this family. He has always stood with them and will continue to do so. Today, he came to listen to their problems.”
Later, the Congress on X shared a letter that, the party said, was written to Gandhi by the victim family earlier this year, seeking his support in getting justice.
In the letter, the woman’s father claimed that the family was yet to get a job for a kin and a residence as was assured to them by the government after the tragedy.
The father also mentioned that three of the accused have been released while only one remains on trial even as the victim’s family, which has been provided CRPF security, is “living life like in prison”, according to the letter.
Last month, Gandhi had tried to go to violence-hit Sambhal district to meet the victim families but was stopped by the state government with local authorities citing prohibition on the entry of outsiders, including public representatives, till December 10 in view of the law and order situation in the area.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak criticised Gandhi for the Hathras visit, saying he is “confused” and “not aware of the status of the case”.
“The CBI has already conducted an inquiry into this case. Under the BJP rule, no culprit is allowed to get away scot-free,” Pathak said.
“Whether Sambhal or Hathras, he (Gandhi) keeps visiting them just to be in the limelight and not for any other reason,” he said.
UP Minister for Minorities Welfare Om Prakash Rajbhar also slammed Gandhi. “If he was not aware of facts of the case, he should know that a CBI probe had long been done.”
“If he knows of any higher investigating authority, he should let us know. Such visits are mere gimmicks showing the Congress desperation,” Rajbhar, who is also the chief of SBSP, said.
When asked about Gandhi meeting the Hathras family, Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav alleged that the government and the administration in Uttar Pradesh have vitiated the atmosphere of brotherhood in the state.
“We are celebrating the legacy of our Constitution today but there is a question about the government violating people’s rights,” Yadav told reporters outside Parliament in Delhi.
She also said they would be raising all such issues in the coming days in Parliament.
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had met the Hathras family October 3, 2020, and declared they would fight for ensuring justice to the deceased.
The 19-year-old woman was allegedly gangraped September 14, 2020. She was moved to Aligarh for treatment and later to Delhi, where she died on September 29, 2020.
She was cremated in the early hours of October 30, with her family alleging the local police had forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night. Local police officers, however, had told PTI that the cremation was carried out “as per the wishes of the family”.
After an initial police probe into the matter, the CBI had taken over the investigation into the case and filed a charge sheet against all four accused.
PTI