Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi reached Hathras Thursday morning to meet the family of a Dalit woman who had died allegedly after gangrape 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.

Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai confirmed in Lucknow that Rahul Gandhi would be visiting the family on Thursday.

Congress leader in Hathras Chandragupt Vikramaditya told PTI, "Rahul ji and Priyanka ji are the leaders who are in touch with aggrieved people across the country. Rahul ji has been in touch with this family also." Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said Rahul Gandhi "is confused" and "not aware of the status of the case".

Asked about the reasons for Gandhi's visit, Pathak said, "The CBI has already conducted an inquiry into this case and in BJP rule no culprit is allowed to get away scot free." "Whether Sambhal or Hathras, he (Gandhi) keeps visiting them just to be in limelight and not for any other reason," the senior BJP leader added.

However, UP Minister for Minorities Welfare Om Prakash Rajbhar slammed Rahul Gandhi for the visit saying, "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 said.

Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi had met the family on October 3, 2020 and declared that 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. 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 in the matter, the CBI had taken over the investigation into the case and filed a charge sheet against all four accused.

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