'Allow Media, Politicians to Meet Hathras Rape Victim's Kin': Uma Bharti's Appeal to Yogi Adityanath

Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti on Friday expressed disapproval over Uttar Pradesh government and state police’s handling of the Hathras gang-rape and murder case and requested Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to allow media persons and politicians to meet the victim’s family. Criticising UP Police’s decision to cremate the body of victim, she said “suspicious” action of the police in the Hathras incident has “dented” the image of the BJP, the state government and and chief minister.

Bharti, who has been admitted to AIIMS-Rishikesh after she tested positive for COVID-19, said had she been fine she would have herself visited the family in Hathras.

She said she will definitely visit the family after getting discharged from the hospital. In a series of tweets in Hindi, the senior BJP leader said, “UP police’s suspicious action has dented the image of BJP, UP government and the state chief minister Yogi Adityanath.” Bharti, who said she has been keeping a close watch on the entire Hathras incident, urged Adityanath to allow media and political leaders to meet the aggrieved family.

Describing the UP chief minister as an “administrator with a clean image”, Bharti related herself as his elder sister but in a limited number of words indicated she was forced to speak after the police laid siege to the village and the victim’s family. She said she was hesitant to speak about the incident, as she thought the chief minister must be taking appropriate action in this regard.

The 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped at a village in Hathras by four men on September 14. After her condition deteriorated, she was referred to Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital where she breathed her last on Tuesday. She was cremated in the early hours of Wednesday, with her family alleging the local police forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.

With PTI inputs