Congress pioneers Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were held by UP police on October 1, after RaGa was supposedly pushed to the ground by police, as they advanced towards Hathras from New Delhi.
The Gandhis had intended to visit the town and meet relatives of the 19-year-old who passed away on September 29, fourteen days in the wake of being assaulted and tortured by four men in Hathras.
Joined by supporters, the Gandhis had begun a foot-walk to Hathras – in excess of 140 kilometers away – after their vehicles were halted at the border of Delhi-UP .Police and the Congress supporters clashed resulting in ruckus on the Yamuna Expressway.
“I want to walk to Hathras alone. Please tell me under which section are you arresting me?” Rahul Gandhi was seen asking the police, in a video tweeted by news agency ANI.
“We are arresting you under Section 188 IPC for violation of an order,” police responded.
“Just now police pushed me, lathicharged me, and threw me to the ground. I want to ask, can only people belonging to the RSS and BJP walk in this country? Can only Modi Ji walk in this country? Can’t a normal person walk? Our vehicle was stopped, so we started walking,” Rahul Gandhi told reporters.
Upon detainment, the Gandhis were taken by the police to the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida.
Numerous workers of the Samajwadi Party who were organizing a dissent in Hathras, requesting justice for the 19 year-old victim,were also detained by police.
Earlier in the day, the local administration in Hathras sealed the district’s borders and imposed Section 144 to help maintain law and order.