Priyanka speaks to Dalit girl beaten up by group of people in Amethi

PTI, Dec 30, 2021, 7:13 PM IST

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday spoke to a Dalit girl of Amethi who was brutally beaten up by a group of people and assured her of all possible help at every level for getting justice.

A video of the incident in which the girl is seen being beaten up has gone viral on the social media.

A five-member delegation of the Congress, led by its Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, went to the girl’s house and got her to speak to Priyanka Gandhi on the phone.

Accompanied by policemen, Lallu, who was arrested earlier in the day for staging a protest against the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the incident, went to the girl’s house and met her family members.

Later, he told reporters that he got the girl to speak to Priyanka Gandhi, who has assured her that the Congress will fight her battle at every level and will not leave any stone unturned to get her justice.

Lallu also said the names of the BJP leaders giving protection to criminals should be exposed and action taken against them.

The Uttar Pradesh Congress chief was arrested from the Rajiv Gandhi tri-section here while he was staging a protest against the state government over the incident.

He was subsequently released on furnishing personal bonds, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Sanjiv Kumar Maurya said.

Led by Lallu, Congress workers in large numbers started the protest demonstration from the Ramlila Maidan in the afternoon. The protesters sat on a dharna at the Rajiv Gandhi tri-section and raised slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Amethi Superintendent of Police (SP) Dinesh Singh said Lallu was arrested for staging a protest without permission and squatting on the road.

After a video clip of the girl being beaten up in a village under the Sangrampur police station in Amethi went viral on the social media, police filed an FIR against Rahul Soni, Suraj Soni and Shubham Gupta alias Sakal on a complaint from her father.

The three accused were arrested and sent to jail.

In a tweet, Priyanka Gandhi, who is the Uttar Pradesh in-charge of the Congress, had hit out at the Adityanath government over the incident and demanded the arrest of the accused in 24 hours.