WEB DESK
Amid High political drama Uttar Pradesh Police today pushed former Congress President Rahul Gandhi to the ground on the Yamuna Expressway and later detained him and sister Priyanka Gandhi while he was walking towards Hathras to meet the family of the rape victim.
Gandhi, along with his sister Priyanka and other senior leaders, had left Delhi in the morning to meet the family of the victim. They began marching towards Hathras after their vehicle was stopped near the Yamuna Expressway. Visuals of the incident show UP Police personnel pushing both Rahul and Priyanka. The UP Police said Rahul Gandhi has been arrested under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for violation of an order.
Meanwhile, the Valmiki community has announced a protest in several Uttar Pradesh districts, including Moradabad, Saharanpur, Jalaun and Kasganj. An agitation is also planned in Delhi around 5pm.
“Why are you arresting me? What are the grounds for the arrest? Please tell the media,” Rahul Gandhi said in a heated exchange with policemen, who said that they were charging him with “Section 188” – a law on defying official orders.
In visuals, the Congress leader was seen resisting policemen who were trying to stop him. The Congress MP was shoved by the cops and he was seen falling to the ground in the chaos.
“Just now police pushed me, lathicharged me and threw me to the ground. I want to ask, can only Modi Ji walk in this country? Can’t a normal person walk? Our vehicle was stopped, so we started walking,” Rahul Gandhi said, targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala have been taken to a guest house at Buddh International Circuit in Gautam Buddh Nagar after being detained.
Those Supposed to Uphold Law, Trampling Upon Democracy: Pawar
NCP chief Sharad Pawar says, “Reckless behaviour of UP Police towards @INCIndia leader Shri @RahulGandhi is extremely condemnable. It is reprehensible for those who are supposed to uphold the law to trample upon the democratic values in such a manner.”
Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah condemns the detention of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi and says the Yogi Adityanath government will have to pay a price for its high handedness.
The brutal rape in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras has sparked protests and anguish in several parts of the country with political leaders and activists slamming the UP government over the horrific incident and the manner in which the funeral was conducted.
The body of a 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died in a Delhi hospital two weeks after she had been allegedly gang-raped on September 14, was cremated near her home in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras in the dead of the night early on September 30. Her family alleged that they had been forced by local police to conduct the last rites.
The brutal incident has sparked protests and anguish in several parts of the country with political leaders and activists slamming the UP government over the horrific incident and the manner in which the funeral was conducted.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has constituted a three-member SIT to probe the case and asked that the trial be conducted in a fast track court.
The 19-year-old young woman was allegedly gang-raped by four men in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district in September. The woman had gone to the fields with her mother on September 14 and went missing soon after, said Hathras Superintendent of Police Vikrant Vir. The teenager was later found brutally injured, with her tongue having a serious cut as she bit it while the accused attempted to strangulate her, according to the officer.
The victim was admitted to the AMU’s Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital in Aligarh. A spokesman of the hospital said that the woman’s legs had been completely paralysed and arms partially paralysed. On September 28, she was shifted to AIIMS, Delhi after her condition showed no signs of improvement.
The victim died at the Delhi hospital on September 29. She died around 3 am, Vikrant Vir, Superintendent of Police – Hathras, said.
The Hathras SP said they initially came to know that Sandip (20) had tried to kill her, following which he was arrested on the same day. Later, in her statement to the magistrate, the victim said that not only Sandip but Ramu, Lavkush and Ravi had also raped her. When she resisted their attempts, they tried to strangulate her, leading to the cut in the tongue, she said.