Priyanka slams Yogi on Balrampur gang rape incident

Lucknow:  Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday slammed the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh over a gang rape in Balrampur district, saying that “marketing and making speeches” do not work while maintaining law and order.

Taking to Twitter, she wrote: “A gruesome incident like Hathras took place in Balrampur. The girl was raped and her legs and waist were broken. Girls have been tortured in Azamgarh, Baghpat and Bulandshahr. The lawlessness in Uttar Pradesh is without any limits. Marketing and making speeches do not work to maintain law and order. This is the Chief Minister’s time for accountability. The public needs answers.”

According to reports, a 22-year-old Dalit college student was raped and brutalized in the Gaisari village of Balrampur on Tuesday.

Two persons have been arrested in connection with the crime which came just days after the gang rape and subsequent death of a woman in Hathras, and whose cremation in the night by the police has provoked nationwide outrage.

Meanwhile, in what seems to be a replay of the Hathras incident, the Balrampur victim was also cremated in a hurry late on Tuesday night amidst a heavy police deployment.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, also the party in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, along with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will visit Hathras on Thursday to meet the family of the victim.

The government has, however, sealed all the boundaries of the district and imposed Section 144.

Three policemen guarding the victim’s family in Hathras have been infected by the novel coronavirus. For this reason the village might also be declared as a containment zone.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikrant Veer said he had not received any information on the Congress leaders’ visit.

“All borders of Hathras have been sealed. No one will be allowed to come to Hathras. The arrival of political leaders may lead to huge crowds. In view of the possibility of law and order deteriorating here, they will be stopped at the borders itself,” he added.