Hathras Protests: Priyanka Gandhi saves Congress worker during police lathicharge at DND

Lucknow, Oct 03: High drama prevailed at the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) flyway after the Uttar Pradesh cops resorted to mild lathi charge over hundreds of Congress workers, compelling party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to come out and help a party worker who was being baton charged by police personnel.

On Saturday, five Congress leaders were allowed to visit Hathras to meet the family members of the victim. Despite the announcement, hundreds of Congress workers gathered at the DND sloganeering in favour of their leaders refused to leave the flyway and thus the UP Police resorted to lathi charge to disperse the mob.

Priyanka Gandhi, in a dark blue kurta and wearing a face mask came out of her vehicle and rushed into the crowd to shield a party worker. She can be seen hopping a small yellow barricade and rushing to protect the party worker as cops with raised lathis surround her.

On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with several party leaders and workers were detained by the Uttar Pradesh police in Greater Noida and sent back to Delhi, after they tried to reach Hathras to meet the family of the young woman.

The Congress has alleged that the woman and her family have been "denied justice" and "severely traumatised" by the BJP government in its attempt to "hide the truth" of the heinous crime perpetrated on her.

The Dalit woman was allegedly raped at a village in Hathras by four men on September 14. After her condition deteriorated, she was referred to the 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 had forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.

Local police officers, however, had said the cremation was carried out "as per the wishes of the family".