'UP Govt couldn't suppress truth': Priyanka Vadra hails CBI chargesheet in Hathras case

After the CBI filed a chargesheet confirming the gangrape and murder of the Hathras victim, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the Uttar Pradesh government. In a statement issued on Friday, Vadra recalled that senior police officers and bureaucrats had outrightly denied any rape. Maintaining that the UP administration had left no stone unturned to deny the victim's dignity in both life and death, the Congress leader said that their "entire might" couldn't suppress the truth.

Referring to the cremation in the middle of the night, Vadra stated that she couldn't forget the anguish of the victim's mother. Hailing the important step taken by the CBI, she expressed hope that it will provide some comfort to the victim's family. Meanwhile, SP president Akhilesh Yadav also reacted to this development and contended that there would have been no justice if the people, opposition and media didn't fight against the BJP government. 

Read: Hathras Case: CBI Files Chargesheet; 4 Accused Persons Charged With Gangrape & Murder

Read: SC Directs That Allahabad HC Will Monitor CBI Probe In Hathras Case; No Immediate Transfer

Congress delegation met Hathras victim

A 19-year-old woman in a village in UP's Hathras district was reported to have been brutally gang-raped by four men when she was collecting fodder for her cattle on September 14. The victim, who was initially admitted to a local hospital in Hathras was shifted for further treatment to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital. She succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday, September 29.  

On October 1, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and scores of party workers were prevented from meeting the gangrape victim's family in Hathras. After their cars were stopped at the Delhi-UP border by the police, they started to march on foot. However, a large contingent of policemen tried to convince them not to proceed ahead in the wake of Section 144 being imposed in Hathras district. Senior party leaders including the former Congress president and Priyanka Vadra were temporarily detained by the police and escorted back to Delhi.

Subsequently, an FIR was registered against the brother-sister duo, 153 identified persons and 50 unknown individuals under Sections 188, 269, 270 of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act. The police alleged that the Congress workers entered into a physical scuffle with its personnel after the Wayanad MP and others refused to heed their advice to turn back. Eventually, the UP administration allowed Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Vadra, KC Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and PL Punia to meet the victim's kin on the evening of October 3. 

Read: AAP MP Sanjay Singh Offers To House Hathras Victim's Kin At His Delhi Home, Slams CM Yogi