Should Dalits, poor give up hope for justice: Priyanka after girls' bodies found hanging from tree in UP

New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government after bodies of two teenaged girls were found hanging from a tree in Fatehgarh and asked whether the likes of Dalits, backward, deprived, poor and women should give up hope for justice now.

The Dalit girls, aged 18 and 15, had left their homes on Monday around 10 pm to visit a nearby temple on the occasion of Janmashtami but did not return, police said, adding that both the girls were residents of the Bhagautipur village.

Their bodies were found hanging from a tree in a mango orchard outside a village in Fatehgarh on Tuesday, with police launching an investigation into what it prima facie believed to be a case of double suicide.

In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Why does a father have to raise these questions after such a horrific incident? Doesn't a victim's father have the right to know the truth about the treatment meted out to his daughter? Why is the administration in a hurry to cremate the bodies of the girls?"

"The attitude of the administration towards the incident that happened with two Dalit girls in Farrukhabad is raising many questions," she said and shared the video of the farther of the deceased girls seeking justice.

Be it Hathras, Unnao or Farrukhabad -- the same cruel story is repeated everywhere, Priyanka Gandhi said.

So should the Dalits, backward, deprived, poor, women, or whoever is weak, give up hope of justice now, she asked.

The incident has drawn sharp criticism of law and order from the Samajwadi Party, the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said it was time to put "women's safety above party politics" as he called for an "impartial" inquiry into the matter.