New Delhi: Opposition leaders, women’s organizations, student groups and hundreds of people gathered at the Jantar Mantar on Friday, demanding justice for the Hathras rape victim who succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday at Safdarjung Hospital.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau members Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat, CPI leader D. Raja, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad were among those who participated. Members of women’s organizations such as the All India Democratic Women’s Association and All India Progressive Women’s Association and student organizations such as SFI and AISA took part in large numbers. Jignesh Mevani, MLA from Gujarat, and Bollywood actor Swara Bhaskar also took part.
The protesters condemned the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government for failing to take quick action on the matter, as well as for the attacks on those who demanded justice for the Dalit woman earlier.
CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury demanded justice for the rape victim and said the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has no right to stay in power. Brinda Karat severely criticized the law and order situation in the State.
Addressing the protesters, Azad also demanded the resignation of Adityanath and said the rape and the subsequent cremation of the woman’s body amounted to “killing of humanity.” According to her family, the cremation took place while they were barricaded in their homes.
Azad called on all the sanitation workers in the country to strike work in the coming days, to press for immediate action. “The sanitation workers clean the garbage of the nation, but it is also necessary to clean the garbage that is in the minds of those who are running this nation,” he told Newsclick.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that what had happened to the woman’s family was not right and added that the government and the whole country should stand with them.
The Bhim Army had called for a protest at India Gate. However, earlier in the day, the Delhi Police took to Twitter declaring the imposition of curfew laws in the areas adjoining India Gate, following which the protests were shifted to Jantar Mantar. Protests over the past few days by women’s, student and youth organizations had been met with severe repression by the police.
Protests have also been taking place in other parts of the country. On Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was manhandled by the UP police when he was on his way to Hathras. On Friday, several left leaders who were protesting the injustice were arrested in Lucknow.
The 19-year-old was raped on September 14 and faced a traumatic experience in the days leading to her death at the hands of the state’s medical system and police with her complaint not being taken seriously. In the aftermath of her death, reports have emerged of her family members being threatened by the Hathras District Magistrate.
On Friday, the UP government suspended the Superintendent of Police of Hathras and four other police officers.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi attends a prayer meeting at the Maharishi Valmiki Temple in Delhi. She says that every woman and every man should stand up for the victim.
A man was seen carrying a poster highlighting state of affairs between the police and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh at Jantar Mantar on Friday evening, in light of the Hathras rape incident.
Student groups gathered at Jantar Mantar on Friday evening to protest against the handling of the Hathras rape case by the Uttar Pradesh police. They asked "Why Did It Take The UP Police 8 Days To File A Rape Case?"
Activists belonging to All India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA) raised slogans against Yogi Adityanath government at Jantar Mantar on Friday evening for collapse of law and order in Uttar Pradesh.
‘One Half of Jantar Mantar Occupied by Protesters’
#DalitLivesMatter Trends on Twitter
Mass Organisations Affiliated to the CPI(M) Join Protest
Heavy police and forces deployment seen at Jantar Mantar
CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury Joins Protest at Jantar Mantar
Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar reaches Jantar Mantar to join the protest demanding justice for the Hathras Victim.
Brinda Karat, Polit Bureau Member of the CPI(M) also joined protest today at Jantar Mantar demanding justice for the Hathras victim. She attacked the Yogi led BJP Govt of UP and questioned state of law and order in the state.
Bhim Army Chief Azad Speaks at Jantar Mantar
Photo Source: Twitter
Addressing the protesters at Jantar Mantar on Friday evening, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad demanded that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister resign from his post in the aftermath of the Hathras rape case. “I will visit #Hathras. Our struggle will continue till the time UP CM doesn’t resign, & justice is served. I urge SC to take cognizance of the incident,” news agency ANI reported him as saying.
Aam Aadmi Party MLA Atishi Marlena joins protesters at Jantar Mantar on Friday evening, to demand justice for the Hathras rape victim.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal joined the protesters at Jantar Mantar on Friday evening. “What is happening to the victim's family is not right. The Government and the whole country should support them. There should not be politics over this,” he said while addressing the crowd. The AAP leader also condemned the burning of the dead body by the UP police, allegedly in the absence of her family members.
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