Protest in Unnao rape victim's village as BJP ministers, MP meet her family

Protests were held on Saturday evening as UP ministers Swami Prasad Maurya and Kamal Rani Varun along with local BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj reached the village of the Unnao gangrape victim and met her family. A number of protesters including some local Congress leaders sustained injuries as police used force to disperse the crowd which gathered outside the residence of the victim, shouted 'Vaapas Jaao, Vapaas Jaao' (Go Back) and raised slogans against the state government and Sakshi Maharaj.

The sloganeering continued for 15 minutes. Police used force to drive away the protesters after which the two ministers and the MP were taken to the victim's home, villagers said. The 23-year-old rape victim who was airlifted to Delhi and admitted to Safdarjung Hospital with 90 per cent burns after being set afire by the accused died following a cardiac arrest at 11.40 pm on Friday.

"The state government is standing with the aggrieved family. Criminals have been arrested.... "Today we have come to offer condolences to the aggrieved family members. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath did his best to save the life of this daughter, and she was airlifted to Delhi, and admitted to Safdarjung Hospital. Controlling death is not in our hands (maut humlogo ke bas ki nahin hai)," Swami Prasad Maurya said.

He also reiterated that the guilty persons will not be spared. "A criminal is a criminal. If anyone tries to save the guilty persons, he too will be dealt strictly by the law," said Maurya, who is the UP Labour minister.

As Maurya reached the victim's residence around 8 pm to hand over a cheque for Rs 25 lakh, Samajwadi Party workers demanded that a compensation of Rs 50 lakh be given to the aggrieved family. Amidst a protest by SP leaders, Maurya handed over the cheque to family members.

The SP leader raising slogans were held by police but as soon as Maurya left the village, they were let off. SP MLC Sunil Singh Sajan told PTI, "The administration wants that the last rites of the rape victim be performed tonight but the family wants that the last rites be conducted tomorrow as some of their relatives are coming from Mumbai. The intention of the administration is not right."

The entire district unit of the SP, along with senior party leaders, was present in the village. Cabinet Minister for Technical Education Kamala Rani Varun also accompanied Maurya.

Sakshi Maharaj, when confronted by reporters and angry people, said, "Stringent action will be initiated against the guilty persons. No one will be spared. An effort was made to tarnish the name of Unnao and we will not allow this to happen." Meanwhile, in Lucknow, police lathicharged Congress workers who staged a protest against the government in Hazratganj outside the headquarters of the UP BJP.

UP Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu was allegedly dragged on the road by the policemen, while other protesters resisted.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)