Anger over Hathras gang-rape intensifies, gatherings banned at India Gate
As India remains enraged over the Hathras gang-rape incident with protests happening in several pockets, Delhi Police banned large gatherings at India Gate — the heart of the National Capital where one of the biggest protests happened in 2012 after Nirbhaya was gang-raped and tortured. 100 people can gather at Jantar Mantar, some three kilometer away, after getting requisite permission, Delhi Police added.
On September 14, a 19-year-old Dalit woman was attacked by four upper caste men in the Uttar Pradesh district while she was busy in farm-related work. The accused dragged and sexually assaulted her, before dumping her. She was found naked, bleeding from her mouth, and suffered serious spinal cord injuries. The victim died on Tuesday at a Delhi Hospital and was cremated without family's permission.
The UP Police's conduct in the case— from not taking the victim to a better medical facility than the Aligarh one where she was recuperating to not allowing the family to take her home one last time — has received ire. Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government has also been slammed. Notably, dozens of Ghaziabad lawyers have demanded President's Rule in the state.
The agitating lawyers sent a memorandum to District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey seeking dismissal of Adityanath's government. They said his failure to control the spate of women-related crimes brought disrepute to the country. Under the banner of Adhivakta Sangharsh Samiti, the lawyers also marched from Civil Court to district collectorate, mouthing anti-government slogans, and burning effigies of the UP CM.
Speaking to reporters later, convener Nahar Singh Yadav, said, "Police tried to eliminate evidence in haste to hide the soaring crime graph as happened in the case of the gang-rape of the Dalit woman in Hathras who was forcibly cremated overnight by police. (sic)"
Amid an outpouring of anger over the incident, a protest was planned at India Gate today, October 2. The date assumes significance as it is Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary, who worked incessantly to uplift the lower-castes. However, Delhi Police didn't give permission for the gathering and instead asked the protesters to move their agitation to Jantar Mantar — the designated spot for such activities.
The general public is hereby informed that in view of DDMA order dated 03.09.2020 a total gathering upto 100 persons is permissible at the designated place i.e. Jantar Mantar and that too with prior permission of the competent authority.
— DCP New Delhi (@DCPNewDelhi) October 1, 2020
Hathras was also turned into a fortress and all roads leading to the victim's home were blocked by police. Yesterday, when Congress' Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi started their march from Yamuna Expressway toward the village, to meet the bereaved family, they were detained. Rahul even claimed he was manhandled by cops. Thereafter, the Gandhi siblings were removed from the site.
Notably, UP Police had effectively sealed the borders and imposed Section 144 of CrPC to disallow opposition parties from meeting the family. When Congress workers tried going through Chandpa and Agra, they were waylaid; the same happened when Samajwadi Party workers tried to reach the victim's village via Aligarh. Asked about the stringent rules, IG (Aligarh range) Piyush Mordia cited "law and order" as a reason.
Separately, Rahul, whose dramatic face-off with police evoked sharp reactions from Congress, tweeted today that he won't be afraid. "I won't be afraid of anyone in the world. I won't bow down to any sort of injustice. I will defeat lies with the power of truth and will face all the struggles while fighting untruth...Heartiest greetings on Gandhi Jayanti," he wrote in Hindi.
