Hathras case: Rahul, Priyanka meet victim's family; Yogi orders CBI probe

The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday recommended a CBI inquiry into the Hathras gang-rape case, minutes after Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had met the victim’s family at their home.

“Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has recommended a CBI probe into the entire Hathras incident,” the chief minister’s office said on Twitter, as questions were raised about the impartiality of the investigation by the state police.

On late Saturday evening, Rahul and Priyanka finally met the grieving family of the gang-rape victim after a dramatic face-off with police at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.

Besides Rahul and Priyanka, Congress leaders K C Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Mukul Wasnik were closeted with the victim’s family for 35-minutes, sharing their agony and pain of losing their daughter.

Television screens showed visuals of Priyanka hugging the victim’s mother and assuring them of every support to ensure that justice was done to the perpetrators of the heinous crime.

“No one can stop us till justice is being done,” Priyanka told reporters emerging out of the meeting.

This was the second attempt by Congress leaders to visit Hathras. A similar attempt on Thursday was unsuccessful as Rahul, Priyanka and other leaders were detained near Greater Noida and escorted back to Delhi, with police claiming that their visit was in violation of the prohibitory orders in Hathras.

Mediapersons too were barred from visiting Hathras on Friday, but the UP government made a U-turn after facing all-round criticism of their strong-arm tactics, including from BJP leaders Uma Bharti and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.

Earlier, Rahul and Priyanka, accompanied by more than 50 parliamentarians, made their way for Hathras, only to be stopped by the police at the Delhi-Noida-Delhi Flyway on the Delhi-UP border.

After a brief stand-off at the inter-state border, the UP government allowed a delegation of five leaders to proceed to Hathras instead of the huge Congress delegation.

Dramatic scenes were witnessed at the UP-Delhi border where Congress supporters had gathered in large numbers, raising slogans demanding justice for the victim.

As police caned Congress workers, Priyanka was seen getting out of her vehicle to rush to the aid of former MP Kamal Kishore and Delhi unit chief Anil Chaudhary, who were at the receiving end of the police action.