West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had maintained a stoic silent over the most recent Babri Masjid judgment exonerating Advani and other saffron leaders of conspiracy in the mosque demolition. But she launched scathing attacks on the Yogi Adityanath government over the reported rape and murder of a dalit woman in Hathras district, culminating with the TMC supremo sending a party delegation to visit the family of the victim.
The teenage victim succumbed to the severe injuries she suffered when she was brutalised by four men in the fields at her village in Hathras district on September 14. She was cremated in Hathras in the dead of the night with family members saying they were not allowed to bring the body home one last time. But, the police claimed they had the family's consent for the cremation. The hurried funeral triggered outrage with opposition parties and other groups attacking the BJP government in UP over the state of law and order.
The delegation, consisting MPs and a former MP, was stopped by the UP police from entering Hathras. The delegation consisted of Derek O'Brien, Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Pratima Mondal and Mamata Thakur. One of the MPs who were stopped, said: "We are peacefully proceeding to Hathras to meet the family and pay our condolences. We are travelling individually and maintaining all protocols. We are not armed. Why are we stopped? What kind of jungle raj is this that elected MPs are prevented from meeting a grieving family."
The team almost reached the house of the victim. When they were just 1.5kms away, they started walking to the village. An official statement by the TMC said the MPs and former MP were forcibly pushed into a car by policemen, and sent back. "We were going to meet her family, but there were not allowing us. When we insisted, the women police personnel pulled at our blouses and lathi-charged MP Pratima Mondal. She fell down. The male police officers touched her. This is shameful," TMC leader Mamata Thakur told news agency ANI.
The Hathras rape incident had heated up on Thursday, with opposition leader Rahul Gandhi detained and "manhandled" mid-protest, and Allahabad High Court summoning top government officials. The two leaders were detained by UP police in Greater Noida, just outside Delhi, when they insisted on marching to Hathras to meet the family of the 19-year-old woman, whose death followed by a hurried cremation triggered nationwide outrage. The two leaders and about 150 party workers were booked and let off after they furnished personal bonds.
There was also a viral physical showdown with the police on the Yamuna Expressway, during which the former Congress president fell on to the ground.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court also took note, summoning the Uttar Pradesh additional chief secretary, director general of police and additional director general of police on October 12 in connection with the case. Justices Rajan Roy and Jaspreet Singh have also called the victim's parents to have their say in court that day.
-Inputs from agencies
