Lucknow: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday met the family members of a 19-year-old girl who was allegedly raped and then killed in Hathras in September 2020. After meeting the family, the Congress leader alleged that they were being treated like criminals.
Rahul Gandhi met them at their home in Bool Garhi village for around 35 minutes and left after speaking to reporters. The former Congress president also took to X this evening accusing the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh for not fulfilling the promises made to the family. “Today, I visited Hathras and met the family of the victim of the shameful and unfortunate incident that occurred four years ago. During the meeting, the things they shared deeply shook me,” he wrote.
‘Entire family continues to live under fear’
He added, “The entire family continues to live under a cloud of fear. They are being treated like criminals. They cannot move freely – they are constantly under surveillance by guns and cameras.” Accusing the state government of not keeping the promises it made to the family members, he added, “Neither have they been given a government job nor has the promise of shifting them to another place been fulfilled.”
आज हाथरस जाकर 4 साल पहले हुई शर्मनाक और दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण घटना के पीड़ित परिवार से मिला। मुलाक़ात के दौरान उन्होंने जो बातें बताई उसने मुझे झकझोर कर रख दिया।
पूरा परिवार आज भी डर के साए में जी रहा है। उनके साथ क्रिमिनल्स के जैसा व्यवहार किया जा रहा है। वे स्वतंत्र रूप से कहीं आ-जा… pic.twitter.com/nGJZqBUnus
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 12, 2024
Adding that the Congress would keep fighting to get justice for the Dalit family, he added, “The frustration and despair of this family shows the truth of the atrocities being committed on Dalits by the BJP. But we will not let this family be forced to live like this. We will fight with all our might to get them justice.”
Know about Hathras gangrape case
On September 14, 2020, four upper-caste men in allegedly raped the 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras. Later, she died on September 29 during treatment at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital. She was later cremated on September 30. Her family had accused the police of delaying the registering of the FIR and locking them in their house, after which they hurriedly conducted the last rites of the victim. The local police, however, said that the cremation was carried out according to the “wishes of the family.”
