Rahul Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi have set off on foot to meet the family of Hathras gangrape victim after the Uttar Pradesh Police stopped them at Yamuna Expressway, citing imposition of Section 144, which prohibits assembly of four or more people.
Congress workers milled around the two leaders as Rahul Gandhi, his face mask on, led the march, with Priyanka, who was recently retained as general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, right behind him. Scores of reporters and people were seen clicking pictures of the two leaders as they went about their padyatra under the October Sun.
The 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died in a Delhi hospital on Tuesday a fortnight after she was gang-raped at Hathras while she was out to collect fodder with her mother, 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.
Congress workers have blocked five lanes of the Delhi-Noida side of the flyway by squatting on the road.
Manoj Chaudhry, Gautam Budh Nagar Congress president, said the party workers have gathered to demand justice for the rape and murder victim.
