Hathras rape case: Protesting SP workers lathi charged by UP Police

Samajwadi Party workers were on Friday lathi charged by the police in Hazratganj area here while they were taking out a protest march against the Hathras gangrape and farm laws.

The march which started from the party office was supposed to end at the Gandhi statue in the city where the MLAs and senior party leaders were scheduled to begin a 'maun vrat' (vow of silence).

However, the protesters were stopped at Hazratganj crossing, where police had put up barricades.

As the SP workers insisted on being allowed to move ahead, a heated argument ensued between the two sides following which police personnel resorted to lathi charge to disperse the crowd.

TMC delegation stopped by police at Hathras border

The TMC on Friday alleged that its leaders were stopped by the Uttar Pradesh Police from meeting the family members of the Hathras gangrape victim.

In a statement, the party said that the delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs was stopped by police around 1.5 kilometres from the victim's home.

The delegation included Derek O'Brien, Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Pratima Mondal and Mamata Thakur (former MP).

Sachin Pilot says Yogi govt suppressing voice of opposition

The Congress leader condemned the behaviour of Uttar Pradesh police and the administration towards party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.

“Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the entire administration have left no stone unturned to

suppress the voice of the opposition. The treatment given to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi yesterday was indecent. It is condemnable. Rights of humanity, constitution and law were torn apart,” Pilot told reporters on Friday.

A ray of hope, says Priyanka Gandhi

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday welcomed the Allahabad High Court summoning top Uttar Pradesh officials to appear before it in connection with the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras district, and said it is a ray of hope for the affected family.

A senior Uttar Pradesh Police officer has said that the forensic examination on the woman who died at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday did not indicate rape.

Earlier, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, on Twitter said that Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) which prohibits assembly of five or more people at a time, has been imposed at the India Gate.

While no gathering would be permissible around India Gate, up to a 100 people can gather at Jantar Mantar but only with prior permission from the competent authority.

The imposition would impede the protests planned at India Gate by activist and political groups, today, in support of the Hathras victim.

FIR against Rahul, Priyanka, 200 other Congress workers in Noida

Meanwhile, the police in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar said it has lodged an FIR against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and around 200 other party workers under The Epidemic Diseases Act for not maintaining social distancing and not wearing face masks.

On Thursday, around 200 Congress workers, including senior leaders of the party, had started a march on the expressways in Greater Noida after their convoy was stopped near Pari Chowk.

The two leaders and around 150 party workers were briefly detained by the police and later released on personal bond, a senior officer told PTI.

The party workers were en route to Hathras to meet the family of the 19-year-old Dalit woman, who had died in a Delhi hospital on Tuesday, a fortnight after she was allegedly gang-raped near her village in western UP.

Lawyers demand President Rule in UP

Amid the widespread outrage over the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras and her forcible cremation subsequently, scores of Ghaziabad lawyers demanded imposition of President Rule in Uttar Pradesh.

The lawyers demanded the dismissal of the Yogi Adityanath government and imposition of President Rule, saying that the gang-rape of a Dalit woman and her brutalization amid a spate of crime against women in Uttar Pradesh has tarnished the image of the country and would flatten its progress graph.

The lawyers sought imposition of President Rule in a memorandum addressed to President Ram Nath Kovind that they gave to District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey.

The agitating lawyers reached the district collectorate in a march from Civil Court under the banner of Adhivakta Sangharsh Samiti.

During the march, the lawyers raised anti-government slogans and burnt effigies of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, accusing him of having failed in controlling the “soaring” crime graph against women in the state.

The lawyers’ body also demanded a government job, a house in Delhi and a compensation of Rs 2 crore for the Hathras gang-rape victim's family.

‘Police protection will be given’: Ashok Gehlot to BJP leaders

Instead of asking why Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have not visited Baran in Rajasthan, where two girls were allegedly raped, senior BJP leaders should go to the district themselves to know the ground reality, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Friday.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday after they were stopped from marching towards Hathras to meet the family of a Dalit woman who was allegedly raped by four men on September 14.

Gehlot claimed that the Uttar Pradesh government wanted to hide things as the opposition leaders were prevented from going to Hathras. “Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi trust our words and reports. Why don't the senior BJP leaders like Amit Shah or Dharmendra Pradhan visit Baran or anywhere in the state to know what actually is the ground reality. We will allow them and if required, police protection will be given to BJP leaders,” Gehlot said.

Pondy CM observes fast condemning police action against Rahul

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and his ministerial colleagues observed a fast here on Friday to condemn the Uttar Pradesh police for its 'reckless' behaviour against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, when they were proceeding to meet a rape victim's family.

Puducherry Congress Chief A V Subramanian presided over the fast, while delegates of youth and students wings of the Congress were among those who participated in the protest called by the national party.

Party sources said the fast which commenced at 8 amwould go on till 5 p m.

Allahabad HC summons top UP govt officials

‘Shocked’ by the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh and her forcible cremation subsequently, a Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court summoned top government officials to the court.

A division bench of justices Rajan Roy and Jaspreet Singh ordered Uttar Pradesh additional chief secretary, state police chief and an additional director general of police to appear before it on October 12 to explain the incident.