Bhubaneswar/UP: Moments after senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other party workers were detained in Greater Noida on Thursday on charges of violation of prohibitory orders while on way to Hathras to meet the family of ‘gang rape’ victim, protests erupted in several parts of Odisha over alleged high handedness of police against the Gandhis.
Many youth Congress activists led by party MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati staged demonstration in the Master Canteen area of capital city Bhubaneswar protesting the incident and also demanded justice for the 19-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh who was allegedly gang-raped and murdered.
The activists reportedly burnt posters and effigies of PM Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath as a mark of protest.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Koraput, Rayagada and several other parts of Odisha.
“Congress will never tolerate such misbehaviour and the treatment meted out to Rahul Gandhi. Massive protests will be launched across Odisha,” stated Bahinipati. He has also given an open threat to all the Union Ministers when he said the latter will not be allowed to enter Odisha under any circumstances.
Condemning the detention of Gandhis, OPCC chief Niranjan Patnaik said, “The incident has shown us that the BJP government wants to crush every democratic voice with brute force. But let me tell them, they can never succeed in their sinister designs. Behaviour of Uttar Pradesh Police is most unfortunate and undemocratic. In a democratic country, political party leaders have no rights to express their sympathy to a girl who has been murdered. People of India should stand against how the present government of India and UP want to run their show to remain in power. All of us should protest this type of mentality and behaviour to save democracy in India.”
As per reports, the 19-year-old was allegedly raped at a village in Hathras in UP by four men on September 14 and breathed her last on Tuesday (September 30) at Delhi's Safdarjung hospital, creating a nation-wide furore. The alleged forceful cremation of the woman in the dead of the night also raised serious concerns.
In response, Hathras DM said, “The allegations that funeral was conducted without family's consent are wrong. The father and brother gave their consent to conduct the last rites at night. Family members were also present at the funeral.”
On the other hand, ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar reportedly stated that the forensic report makes clear the woman was not raped.
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