Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met the family of a Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras who died allegedly after being gangraped in September 2020.
The Congress MP reached Bool Garhi village around 11.15 AM, even as police stepped up deployment in and around the hamlet in the Chandpa area the district in light of his visit.
Gandhi spent around 35 minutes with the family at their home and spoke with them. He left without speaking to a waiting group of reporters who had gathered in the village for his visit.
After Gandhi’s visit, Congress’ former Hathras 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. He is continuously fighting for their problems.”
On October 3, 2020, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi had met the family and declared they will fight for ensuring justice to the deceased.
The 19-year-old woman was allegedly gangraped on 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.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, however, criticised Gandhi for the 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 was quoted saying by PTI.