New Delhi: Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra before leaving for Hathras to meet the family members of a 19-year-old Dalit woman who died after allegedly being gang-raped two weeks ago, in New Delhi, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. (PTI Photo/Shahbaz Khan)(PTI03-10-2020_000095A)Hathras case Live News Updates: Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are on their way to Hathras after they were given permission to meet the family of the Dalit teenager who died after she was brutally assaulted and allegedly gangraped by four upper caste men.
According to the Noida Police, only five members were permitted to go to Hathras via Noida considering the restrictions imposed under CrPC Section 144. Among Congress leaders who are headed to Hathras aside from Rahul and Priyanka are KC Venugopal, Randeep Singh Surjewala, and Adhir Ranjan Choudhury. A huge contingent of police was deployed at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border in Noida before Gandhis’ arrived. On Thursday, Rahul got into a scuffle with the police and was arrested along with Priyanka while they tried to visit the kin of the deceased.
The death of the victim and her hurried cremation by the police without letting the family perform her last rites has sparked widespread outrage across the nation, with the Opposition demanding the resignation of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Earlier in the day, journalists were allowed to enter the village after the Uttar Pradesh administration said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had completed its investigation into the case. Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi and DGP Hitesh Chandra Awasthy also met the kin of the deceased today. Under fire for its handling of the murder and hurried cremation of the woman, the Uttar Pradesh government suspended three police officers, including Hathras Superintendent of Police Vikrant Vir. A government spokesperson said polygraph and narco tests would be conducted on the accused, the victim’s relatives and police officers involved in the probe.
Members of various organizations during a protest against the Hathras case, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Friday. (PTI)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamat Banerjee on Saturday took out a rally in the city in protes against the Hathras gang rape case in Uttar Pradesh The march began at the Birla Planetarium and ende at the Gandhi statue at Mayo Road, about 2 km away She had hit out at the BJP government in Utta Pradesh on Thursday and said just as Goddess Sita had to g through 'Agni Pariksha' in the Ramayana after being abducte by King Ravana, the Dalit woman who died after being allegedl gang-raped and brutalised in Hathras was cremated in the dea of the night.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are on their way to Hathras. They are joined by KC Venugopal, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Adhir Ranjan Choudhury and Kamal Kishore.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu on Saturday said he had been put under house arrest in order to 'stop' him from going to Hathras and fight for justice for the Dalit woman who died after she was assaulted and allegedly gang-raped. Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi alleged that the step had been taken to prevent Lallu from joining party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who are again headed towards Hathras in another effort to meet the family of the victim. 'I'm under house arrest. I am being treated as a criminal,' Lallu told PTI.
'This is only to stop me from going to Hathras and fight for justice for the gang-rape victim.' 'This shows how scared this government is. Is it wrong to fight for the victim or meet the family members?' he asked. The state Congress said Lallu, district heads and more than 500 workers had been placed under house arrest. 'Yogi ji, don't stop those who fight for justice. Stop the crimes,' it tweeted.
According to Lallu, police came to his house in Lucknow around 1.30 am and started banging on the door. He was handed over a notice that a case has been filed against him at the Hazratganj police station and he has to appear next Friday.
According to Noida Police, Rahul Gandhi, four other Congress representatives will be allowed to proceed to Hathras, PTI reported. The Congress leaders have reached the Delhi-Noida-flyway and are proceeding towards the toll to enroute Hathras.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi have arrived at the Delhi-Noida flyway. Negotiations are ongoing for their permission to visit Hathras, said Additional DCP central noida police.
A group of Congress workers head towards the DND toll as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reach the flyway.
Express Photo: Ananya Tiwari
Meanwhile, in Agra, scores of Valmiki community members who were protesting against the Hathras incident clashed with the police here on Saturday. The protesters pelted stones at the policemen and official vehicles. Police personnel were deployed at the clash site outside a municipal corporation office in Kothi Meena Bazaar area of the Taj city, officials said. Some visuals purportedly showed that thee Valmiki community members from Rajnagar in Lohamandi reached the municipal corporation office and pelted stones at the civic body's garbage collection vehicles at around 12 noon. Later, dozens of policemen, some of them in anti-riot gears, reached the site and the agitated crowd started pelting stones at them, too, even as traffic on the road remained obstructed during the clash, they showed.(PTI)
Heavy police deployment has come up on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border in Noida. Barricades were installed at the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) flyway, where scores of policemen, including senior officers, were present in anti-riot gears since noon, even as CrPC section 144 remained imposed in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar.
Source: INC/Twitter
Express Photo by Ananya Tiwari
As protest intensifies, Congress MPs march towards Hathras.
A spokesperson for the Uttar Pradesh government said on Friday (October 2) that polygraph and narcoanalysis tests would be conducted as part of the investigation into the alleged gangrape and murder of a 19-year old Dalit woman by four men of the Thakur caste in Hathras last month.
The spokesperson said that the tests would be conducted on “all people on the accused and victim side”, apart from “police officers involved in the case and other persons related to the case”.
What are polygraph and narcoanalysis tests? Read more
Ramping up her attack on the Uttar Pradesh government, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she would lead a protest march in Kolkata on Saturday against the Hathras “gangrape” and murder case. The march is scheduled to start from Birla Planetarium and conclude at the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Mayo Road in central Kolkata in the afternoon.
Congress workers at Delhi-Noida border on Saturday. (Express photo/Ananya Tiwari)
Determined to meet the family of the Hathras victim, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told news agency ANI: "If not this time, then we will try again."
More than 50 Congress MPs are likely to be a part of the delegation scheduled to visit Hathras today. Taking to Twitter, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said: "Huge crowds milling at 24 Akbar Road as over fifty MPs gathered to travel to meet the family of the Hathras case victim. It is entirely appropriate for people of conscience to seek to express their solidarity in the face of such atrocities. Let us hope the UP government behaves sensibly."
Speaking to reporters, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said: "Is there a system in Uttar Pradesh? There have been many cases ever since this government came into power. Earlier, there were cases of lynching, killing of opposition leaders and filing of cases against them. This is not new but a routine in Uttar Pradesh."
In view of the massive traffic at DND, Delhi Traffic Police tweeted: "Traffic on DND is heavy. Those heading to Noida are advised to reach Noida from Akshardham."
Uttar Pradesh Police DGP Hitesh Chandra Awasthi has arrived along with ACS Home Awanish Awasthi at Hathras village.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has left his residence to visit Hathras village.
The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Agra received 13 samples, including clothes, nail clippings, hair, vaginal and anal swabs of the 19-year-old Hathras victim on September 25 – 11 days after she was allegedly gangraped. According to the FSL report, 13 exhibits were presented to the team — nail clippings, hair, vaginal swab stick, endocervical swab stick, perineal swab stick, anal swab stick, blood sample, control swab stick, two salwar, a torn kurta, a dupatta, and underwear. According to the report, human blood was found on the vaginal, endocervical, perineal and anal swabs as well as on the clothes. No blood was detected in nail clippings, hair, and the control swab stick, it stated. Click here to read more.