Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi to meet Hathras rape victim’s family; district borders sealed

The Hathras administration has sealed the district borders amid reports of Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi’s visit to meet the family of the 19-year-old who died after being gang-raped and tortured. The victim died on Tuesday at Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital and her body was hurriedly cremated by the Hathras Police in the wee hours of Wednesday triggering a nationwide outrage.

Hathras District Magistrate P Lakshkar said that the local administration has no information about Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi’s visit, and added that Section 144 has been imposed in the district.

“Borders of Hathras are sealed. Section 144 of CrPC has been imposed in the district, more than five people are not allowed to gather. We’ve no information about Priyanka Gandhi’s visit. SIT will meet the victim’s family members today, media will not be allowed,” news agency ANI quoted Hathras DM P Lakshkar, as saying.

Both Rahul and Priyanka have been relentless in their attack on the Yogi Adityanath government of Uttar Pradesh over the Hathras gangrape case.

In a scathing attack on the Yogi Adityanath dispensation, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the victim was “killed by a ruthless government”.

“There was an attempt to hush up the matter. The girl was not given timely treatment and a daughter is no more amongst us. I want to say that Hathras’ Nirbhaya has not died, she has been killed — by a ruthless government, by its administration and by the UP government’s ignorance,” Sonia Gandhi said in a video statement.

“A daughter of India is raped-murdered, facts are suppressed and in the end, the right to perform the last rites is also taken away from the victim’s family,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.

Demanding Yogi Adityanath’s immediate resignation, Priyanka Gandhi tweeted that the Uttar Pradesh chief minister has no moral right to continue on the post.

“RESIGN. Instead of protecting the victim and her family, your government became complicit in depriving her of every single human right, even in death. You have no moral right to continue as chief minister,” she said.