Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday evening met the family of the Hathras victim, declaring they will fight for justice to the Dalit woman who died after being allegedly gang-raped.
“We will fight against injustice, and fight till justice is done,” Priyanka told reporters after the meeting that lasted about 45 minutes.
Rahul said no power can stifle the voice of the family.
Uttar Pradesh authorities had scuttled an earlier attempt by the two leaders to travel to Hathras, detaining them and several party workers in Greater Noida outside Delhi on Thursday.
On Saturday, the Congress staged another demonstration at the Delhi-Noida border, where Congress workers scuffled with police and were allegedly baton-charged.
When a delegation of Congress MPs and other leaders reached the barricades, the Noida police said they will allow only five party representatives to meet the family at their village in Hathras, about 150km away.
The 19-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped on September 14 in an assault by four men that left her critically injured. She died at a Delhi hospital last Tuesday.
Villagers gathered outside as the Congress leaders entered the family’s home. Some were seen on the rooftops nearby, waiting to catch a glimpse of the Congress leaders.
Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders Pradeep Mathur told news agency PTI that K.C. Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Mukul Wasnik accompanied the Gandhis on the visit.
There was a heavy security presence outside the family’s home.
All roads lead to Hathras
All roads it seemed led to Hathras with chief minister Yogi Adityanath sending senior officials, including additional chief secretary (home) Awanish Awasthi and director-general of police H.C. Awasthy, to the village to meet the woman's family.
Several journalists, including those from TV channels, also made their way to the village where various family members spoke of their grief and trauma since September 14 when she was brutally assaulted and allegedly gangraped by four upper caste men.
Awasthi told reporters that any group with no more than five people is allowed to meet the victim's family, marking a departure from the past few days when the media and politicians, including from the Congress and the Trinamul, were turned away from the village.
He said orders for the suspension of police personnel, including the superintendent of police, were issued on Friday within two hours of receiving the first report from the SIT.
"It is an extremely sad incident. We met everyone in the family. We spoke to them and assured them that the strictest action would be taken against all those found guilty," Awasthi told reporters.
"Whatever points and the complaints they have raised, the SIT will note them, and we will make all efforts to ensure that each of them is addressed," Awasthi said, without elaborating.
The officer said that they would submit a report to the chief minister.
The Dalit teen's family alleged they were forced by local police to hurriedly conduct her last rites, triggering outrage nationwide and protests in several places.
On Thursday, the Hathras administration had clamped prohibitory orders and scuffles broke out as politicians, including from the Congress and the Trinamul, as well as the media, tried to access the village. About 300 police personnel stood on guard to prevent anybody from entering.
The death of the young woman, whose brutal assault recalled for many the horrors of the Nirbhaya case, continued to snowball into a major political issue.
The Congress's Uttar Pradesh unit president Ajay Kumar Lallu and more than 500 workers were earlier put under house arrest, the party alleged.
In Varanasi, a group of Congress workers blocked Union minister Smriti Irani's cavalcade. Congress spokesperson Lalan Kumar said protesting party workers, who raised anti-government slogans and demanded justice for the woman's family, were later arrested.
Addressing a press conference, the women and child development minister accused the Opposition of playing politics on the Hathras issue.
"The victim will get justice. I have spoken to the chief minister. Once the SIT submits its report, the chief minister will take action against the accused," Irani told reporters.
Adityanath had set up three-member special investigation team on Wednesday and instructed that it submit its report by October 14.
In a tweet in Hindi using the hashtag 'Hathrashorror', Rahul said the behaviour of the Uttar Pradesh government and police with the woman and her family "is unacceptable" .
Hitting out at the Adityanath dispensation, Priyanka described the state government as "morally corrupt" and said, "The victim did not get treatment, her complaint was not registered on time, her body was forcibly cremated, the family is in captivity, they are being suppressed -- now they are being threatened that they will have to undergo a narco test."
The party also alleged that the woman and her family had been denied justice and "severely traumatised" by the BJP government.
BSP president Mayawati demanded a CBI or a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the incident and said people were not satisfied with the initial investigations in the matter.
There is tremendous resentment in the entire country over the Hathras heinous gangrape case. The public does not seem satisfied with the initial probe report. Therefore, this matter should be investigated by the CBI or under the supervision of the honourable Supreme Court. This is the demand of the BSP, Mayawati tweeted in Hindi.
Also, to the honourable President of the country, who also comes from the state and is a Dalit, it is a strong appeal to him to intervene in this case, keeping in mind the inhuman attitude of the government, to bring justice to the victim family, she added.