Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti said Friday the 'suspicious' action of Uttar Pradesh police in the Hathras incident has 'dented' the image of the BJP, the state government and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and requested him to allow mediapersons and politicians to meet the victim's family.
Bharti, who has been admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Rishikesh after testing positive for COVID-19, said had she been fine she would have herself visited the family in Hathras district, and added she will definitely visit the family after getting discharged from the hospital.
'UP police's suspicious action has dented the image of BJP, UP government and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath,' the senior BJP leader said in a series of tweets in Hindi.
Bharti said she has been keeping a close watch on the entire Hathras incident and urged Adityanath to allow media and political leaders to meet the aggrieved family.
Describing the UP chief minister as an 'administrator with a clean image', Bharti related herself as his elder sister but in a limited number of words indicated she was forced to speak after the police laid siege to the village and the victim's family.
She said she was hesitant to speak as she thought the chief minister must have been taking appropriate action.
Appearing critical of the police action in handling the case, Bharti said the last rites of the Dalit victim was done in a hastily manner by the police.
She further said that there is no rule that a family cannot be allowed to meet anyone during an investigation, in fact this brings the SIT investigation in this case under suspicion.
The 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped at a village in Hathras by four men on September 14.
After her condition deteriorated, she was referred to 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 forced them to conduct the last rites in the dead of the night.
But the local police officers said the cremation was done 'as per the wishes of the family'.
