UP police behaviour with senior oppn leaders 'draconian': CPIM

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were on Thursday stopped from visiting Hathras. “The statement from the UP Police that it was not a case of rape makes clear the criminal actions of the state government when they hurriedly and forcibly cremated the victim in the dead of the night.

Hitting out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, the CPI(M) on Thursday said that the behaviour of the state police with senior opposition leaders was "draconian". A 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four upper-caste men in Hathras on September 14 and referred to the Safdarjung hospital in Delhi on Monday with spinal cord injuries, paralysis and cuts in her tongue. She died around 3 am on Tuesday.

Her brutal death and subsequent cremation in the dead of the night in Hathras allegedly under police pressure on Tuesday triggered massive outrage over the law and order situation in UP and over women safety in general. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were on Thursday stopped from visiting Hathras.

"The statement from the UP Police that it was not a case of rape makes clear the criminal actions of the state government when they hurriedly and forcibly cremated the victim in the dead of the night. "Today's draconian behaviour of the UP state govt with senior opposition leaders to stop them from meeting the victims is unconstitutional and undemocratic. These actions happen at the behest of the top political leadership of the ruling party which has failed the country on all fronts. Such authoritarian and dictatorial moves are reflective of the desperation of the ruling party and will not be tolerated by the people of this country," said CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in a tweet.

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