Vikrant Shekhawat : Oct 01, 2020, 04:17 PM
New Delhi: In dramatic scenes on the highway between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh today, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were detained for defying a ban on large gatherings as they headed to Hathras to meet the family of the gang rape victim who died on Tuesday and whose dead-of-night cremation by the UP police has provoked nationwide outrage. Rahul Gandhi alleged that he was pushed to the ground and lathi-charged when he and Priyanka Gandhi were marching on the highway after their convoy was stopped by Uttar Pradesh policemen."Why are you arresting me? What are the grounds for the arrest? Please tell the media," Rahul Gandhi said in a heated exchange with policemen, who said that they were charging him with "Section 188" - a law on defying official orders.After being stopped at the Uttar Pradesh border, the Gandhi siblings - Rahul and Priyanka on Thursday, have begun to proceed towards Hathras on foot, protesting the brutal rape of a 19-year-old Dalit woman. Enroute to Hathras, Gandhis along with Congress workers were stopped by UP police as the district administration has sealed the borders. Speaking to the media, the Wayanad MP alleged that police pushed him, lathicharged him, adding that BJP leaders were allowed to pass.In visuals, the Congress leader was seen resisting policemen who were trying to stop him. The Congress MP was shoved by the cops and he was seen falling to the ground in the chaos."Just now police pushed me, lathicharged me and threw me to the ground. I want to ask, can only Modi Ji walk in this country? Can't a normal person walk? Our vehicle was stopped, so we started walking," Rahul Gandhi said, targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The 19-year-old victim died in Safdarjung Hospital where she was brought on Monday from Aligarh Muslim University Medical College.Police had conducted her last rites at her native place in the wee hours of Wednesday. All four accused involved in the incident have been arrested.