The Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh came under an “ink attack” on Monday outside Boolagarhi village in Hathras when he, along with a party delegation, was returning after meeting relatives of the victim who died after a brutal assault on September 29.
Mr. Singh and party MLA Rakhi Birlan were addressing the media when a youth identified as Deepak Sharma sprayed ink on them shouting, “brokers of PFI, go back.”
The Popular Front of India (PFI) is an Islamic fundamentalist organisation. Mr. Sharma is believed to be a member of the Rashtriya Swabhiman Dal.
Demanding justice and security for the family, Mr. Singh said the government seemed to be protecting the perpetrators of the crime. He described the CBI probe “as nothing but an eyewash.” The statement of the victim should be considered as her dying declaration. “It is enough to nail the accused,” he said.
FIRs filed
A day after Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad visited the family of the woman who was brutally assaulted allegedly by four upper caste men, the Hathras Police lodged an FIR against him for violating Section 144. Around 400 workers of the Bhim Army have also been booked under Sections 147 (rioting), 341 (wrongful restraint), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection), 270 and 188 of the IPC and section 3 of the Epidemic Act, 1897
An FIR, under similar sections of the IPC, has also been registered against unidentified workers of the Rashtriya Lok Dal. Police had lathi-charged RLD workers on Sunday after they tried to break the barricade outside the Boolagarhi village.
RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary, who was addressing a group of media persons, was saved by the workers who formed a shield around him. Mr. Chaudhary charged the police with being insensitive to the anguish that the incident has caused to the common people. On Monday, the RLD workers protested outside the village against the lathi charge on their leader. Similar protests were seen in different parts of the State, including Lucknow. A panchayat of jats was held in neighbouring Sadabad, an RLD stronghold, where the community expressed its anguish.
On the demand for security for the family by different delegations, Hathras SP Vineet Jaiswal told reporters that adequate security was already being provided and a section and a half of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) has been camping in the village. “One DSP rank officer, three SHOs and 15 constables have also been posted to maintain law and order. One sub-inspector and one constable have been sanctioned to be with the brother of the victim round the clock. Two woman sub-inspectors and six woman constables have been posted to guard the women in the family.” He said the security arrangement was being constantly reviewed by higher officials.
On Monday, he said, the SIT members visited the village again. “The local intelligence units have been activated to find out who tried to vitiate the social atmosphere in the area. “Nobody will be allowed to violate law and order,” he said.
MP denies charge
Meanwhile, Hathras MP Rajvir Diler denied on Monday that he went to meet the accused in the Hathras case in Aligarh jail on Sunday. Local media reports had questioned his visit to the jail, as images of him outside the jail went viral on Monday
Mr. Diler has been facing the ire of both the Valmikis and the upper castes after the incident. While the Valmikis allege the MP had not been able to safeguard the interests of his own community, relatives of the accused say the MP’s daughter put out the names of the four accused on social media even before the police named them.
Mr. Diler clarified that he had asked the Chief Minister for a CBI inquiry and that he didn’t go to meet the accused inside the jail. “I went to meet the Aligarh SSP for some urgent work, but when I reached there, I was told that the SSP has tested COVID positive and was under quarantine. When I was returning, some party workers stopped me in front of the jail. Meanwhile, the jailer came out and requested that I have a cup of tea with him. I also wanted to talk to him regarding reducing the quantum of punishment of an aged inmate. It is baseless to associate me with the case. I didn’t go to the jail to meet the accused or anybody. I didn’t even think about it,” he said.
It was an attempt to spoil his image. “The CBI inquiry will reveal who is guilty and who is not,” he said.
