'Congress MPs under the leadership of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi will go to Hathras today afternoon to meet the grieving family of the 19-year old-daughter of Uttar Pradesh, who was brutally assaulted & murdered,' Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal tweeted.
Delhi Police has registered a first information report (FIR) against Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra for her 'derogatory' social media post on National Commission for Women chief Rekha Sharma.
Her body was cremated in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.
Amid country-wide outrage over the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on Wednesday formed a three-member SIT which was instructed to submit its report by October 14, according to officials.
Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh government had told the bench that "shocking findings" have emerged in the investigation so far in the case in which Kappan was arrested on his way to Hathras.
Rahul Gandhi also fell down in the melee after police tried to stop him and his supporters from proceeding on the Yamuna Expressway.
The chief minister pointed out that prompt action had been taken by the Punjab Police and the accused had been caught without delay, unlike in the Hathras incident. "That was why Rahul Gandhi had to rush to Hathras, to secure justice for the victim's family, and did not need to visit Hoshiarpur," he said.
The brother of the 19-year-old Dalit woman told reporters on Saturday that the family wanted to shift to the national capital and continue their fight for justice there.
From the Congress party, I demand justice for the Hathras victim. India is a country for all and everyone has the right to live with dignity, Sonia said.
The notification has been marked to a suitable branch of the premier agency, and probe teams will be dispatched to the crime scene along with forensic experts immediately after the registration of a FIR, they said.
If the Congress recovers some of its earlier influence among the Dalits, the BJP will be in a quandary since the Dalits were among the party's latest acquisitions. To lose them will be a disaster for the saffron camp not only in UP, but all over India, observes Amulya Ganguli.
The NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance in connection with the 'gang rape and brutality of a 19-year-old women belonging to the Scheduled Caste in Hathras district', the rights panel said in a statement.
A senior government official said the chief minister has also asked for conducting the trial of the case in a fast track court.
Local police officers, however, said that the cremation was being carried out "as per the wishes of the family".
Hathras BJP MP Rajvir Singh Diler Sunday visited the Aligarh jail where the four accused in the gang-rape and murder case of a Dalit woman are lodged, but said he had not gone there to meet any inmate and that he was invited by the jailor for a cup of tea.
The court had on October 1 asked the woman's parents to apprise it of their version of the incident and had also ordered the Hathras district administration to arrange for their travel to the court and facilitate their appearance before it.
In the letter, the main accused, Sandeep, has also stated that he was friends with the alleged gang rape victim, due to which her mother and brother had thrashed the 19-year-old Dalit woman, leading to serious injuries that resulted in her death.
The National Commission for Women has also directed them to immediately remove these posts and refrain from sharing such posts in future.
A massive protest erupted in Delhi on Friday evening as a number of civil society activists, students, women and political leaders gathered at Jantar Mantar against the alleged gang rape and death of a young woman in Hathras district and the Uttar Pradesh government's response to it.
The FIR was lodged under The Epidemic Diseases Act for not maintaining social distancing and not wearing face masks.
In the state capital Kolkata, civil society members marched from Ramlila Maidan in Moulali to Metro Channel in Esplanade, demanding justice for the victim of the crime that shook the conscience of the nation.
The woman was gangraped a fortnight ago, following which she was admitted to the AMU's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital. The accused had also tried to strangulate her to death as she resisted their attempt and in the process, she had also ended up biting her tongue and suffering a severe cut on it.
Rahul also tagged a media report which asked why police was denying rape when the woman repeatedly reported rape.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticized the BJP for claiming to protect the Constitution while citing V D Savarkar's remarks that there was nothing Indian about it. He also drew parallels to the story of 'Eklavya' to illustrate the BJP's alleged economic policies hurting small businesses and farmers. He further supported the removal of the 50 percent cap on reservations and advocated for a caste census.
The CM assured the family of stringent action against all the accused.
Heavy police force was deployed in the vicinity of the residence of former BJP MLA Rajvir Singh Pehalvan, located around 8-9 kilometres from the victim's village. One of the organisers of the meeting and Pehalvan's son Manveer Singh denied that the gathering comprised members from the upper castes and said they were from 'different sections of society'.
The order, issued by the local Fatehpur police station in-charge Manoj Chaudhary, also warned Azad of legal action for violating the instruction.
Priyanka Gandhi said that according to the family, the district magistrate meted out the worst treatment to them, and asked who was protecting the officer. In a tweet in Hindi, the Congress leader said, 'According to the aggrieved family, the worst treatment meted out to them was by the district magistrate. Who is trying to save him? He should be immediately suspended, and his role in the entire matter should be probed.'
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launched a scathing attack on the BJP in her maiden Lok Sabha speech, accusing the government of trying to weaken the Constitution and prioritizing the interests of one individual over the people. She criticized the BJP's alleged attempts to change the Constitution, the growing monopoly of the Adani Group, atrocities on women, and the demand for a nationwide caste census. She also challenged the BJP to hold elections using ballot paper, saying it would expose the reality.
The top court, which was hearing a public interest litigation and several intervention pleas of activists and lawyers, was told that no fair trial was possible in Uttar Pradesh as the investigation has been allegedly botched up.
Justice Ananda Sen said that the shocking incident has prompted the court to say that "Hathras (like places) is not only in the state of Uttar Pradesh, but also is in the state of Jharkhand." The court cannot keep its eyes shut and ignore this type of "lacklustre and shoddy" probe, he said.
A decision has also been taken for providing security permanently in the village, the senior officer, who along with DGP H C Awasthy rushed to meet the victim's family on the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, said.
The federal agency issued a statement, saying it has attached fresh assets worth more than Rs 35 crore that are "beneficially-owned and controlled" by the PFI "in the name of various trusts, companies and individuals" as part of its ongoing probe against the outfit and entities linked to it.
After the suicides of the brothers, the villagers protested against the police and demanded action against the officer. Following this, Sub-inspector (SI) Hariom Agnihotri and Inspector Mukesh Kumar were suspended on the directions of Aligarh Range Inspector General Shalab Mathur, the police said.
An official source said the Delhi police had written to X and added a response from the social media company was still awaited.
'He may have had his reservations about the law and order situation there, but the way the family of the victim was intimidated raises a lot of questions about the intentions of the DM.'
This has invited sharp reaction from the Opposition, with the Samajwadi Party saying that the BJP was afraid of its defeat in Milkipur due to which it moved the court for "stalling" polls on the assembly seat.
A CBI team on Tuesday met the family members of the 19-year old Dalit victim in the gangrape and murder case in Bulgarhi village in Hathras and examined the crime scene, officials said.
A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde asked the petitioner to amend the petition and observed that they should approach the Allahabad high court for the relief.
The NCW said it strongly condemns the defamatory remarks and requests strict action against Moitra.