Hathras: Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi allowed to visit victim's family; silent on #HathrasTapes

Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and three others have been allowed by Uttar Pradesh authorities to travel to Hathras and meet the family of the 19-year-old Dalit woman who was allegedly gang-raped and murdered last month.

This the Congress leaders' second attempt to reach Hathras and speak to the family of the victim who died on September 29 in a Delhi hospital after succumbing to grievous injuries. The brutal alleged gangrape of the woman by four upper-caste men has drawn stark criticism from the Opposition towards CM Adityanath as well as the BJP-led Central government over the spike in crimes against women.

The UP Police had deployed a heavy presence on the Delhi-Noida border. Several prominent Congress leaders including MP Shashi Tharoor, Pratap Singh Bajwa, Saptagiri Utama also joined the cavalcade. 

"Nothing in the world can stop me from going to Hathras to meet this unhappy family to share their pain," Rahul Gandhi tweeted this morning. Before leaving Priyanka told news agency ANI: "If not this time, then we will try again".

Meanwhile, top officials from the UP government and police, including DGP HC Awasthy and Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi went to Hathras today to speak to the family, and the media were allowed to enter the village after a 48-hour ban.

On Thursday the Gandhis were stopped in UP's Greater Noida (near Delhi) and briefly taken into custody. Rahul was manhandled and pushed to the ground by the cops in that tussle, prompting indignation at the UP government's handling of opposition leaders.

READ | 'Justice Assured': Smriti Irani Breaks Silence On Hathras Case In Fiery Response To Oppn

READ | UP Congress Chief Put Under House Arrest Ahead Of Rahul Gandhi's Scheduled Visit To Hathras

About Hathras rape case

A 19-year-old woman was allegedly raped by four men in Hathras which has sparked a major protest. The victim was allegedly raped in Hathras on September 14 in a field, leaving her in a critical condition. When her condition worsened, she was referred to AIIMS but was admitted to Safdarjung hospital in Delhi on Monday with spinal cord injuries, paralysis, and cuts in her tongue. She died around 3 am on Tuesday, but her autopsy report has no mention of rape. Police have claimed that the Hathras gangrape victim was 'not raped' after the postmortem report stated 'neck injury and trauma' as the cause of death and that no traces of sperm were found in her private parts.

The case took an ugly turn when UP police cremated the victim's body at 2:30 AM on Wednesday, allegedly without the family's consent, which has been refuted by the police. The Allahabad High Court has taken a suo moto cognizance of the case and sought a response from senior state officials by October 12. 

READ | 'UP Police Should Go To Any Extent To Ensure Justice For Victims': CM Yogi On Hathras Case