Rahul, Priyanka detained on way to UP to meet gang-rape victim's kin

Rahul Gandhi arrested on way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh. Pic/ANI Twitter

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra started a foot-march on the highway between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on Thursday as their convoy was stopped on its way to Hathras.

They were going to meet the family of the woman who died on Tuesday after being gang-raped, and whose cremation in the night by the police has provoked nationwide outrage.

The convoy was stopped at Greater Noida and Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi were detained.

After the convoy was stopped, Rahul Gandhi got into a scuffle with the UP police and said that the police are conducting lathi-charge and are physically pushing protesters and stopping them from going ahead.

"Just now police pushed me, lathi-charged me and threw me to the ground. I want to ask, can only Modi walk in this country? Can't a normal person walk? Our vehicle was stopped, so we started walking," said Rahul.

Rahul Gandhi asked the police, "I want to walk to Hathras alone. Please tell me under which Section are you arresting me."

To this, the police said, "We are arresting you under Section 188 of the IPC for violation of an order."

Meanwhile, Noida ADCP Ranvijay Singh said, "We have stopped them here. The Epidemic Act is being violated. We will not allow them to proceed forward."

Ahead of the Congress leaders' UP visit, the district administration in Hathras had imposed Section 144 in the area and banned the entry of all 'outsiders', including media persons, in the Boolgarhi village where the 19-year-old woman was gang-raped.

District Magistrate Praveen Lakshkar said that the Special Investigation Team (SIT), set up to probe the incident, had reached the village and was interacting with the family and other people to record their statements. "They do not want any disturbance and hence, all entry of outsiders has been stopped," he said.

The Congress has protested statewide on Wednesday and Rahul Gandhi had dubbed the "forcible cremation" of the Hathras gang-rape victim by the police as a "shameful" move of the Uttar Pradesh government.

"It is a shameful move of the state government to oppress the Dalits and show them their place in society," he tweeted in Hindi, tagging a news report on the cremation of the 19-year-old woman.

"Our fight is against this despicable thinking," the Congress leader added.

Earlier, the party had demanded Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's resignation for "not acting in time".

The 19-year-old woman from Hathras was cremated early Wednesday in her native village amid tight security.

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