Raebareli lynching: Cong demands UP CM's resignation, SIT probe

New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) In the wake of alleged lynching of a Dalit man in Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli, the Congress on Monday said the incident shows that law and order in the state has "completely collapsed" and demanded Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's resignation as well as an SIT probe into it.

The party also demanded Rs 1 crore compensation for the victim's family and that one member of the victim's family be given a government job.

Police in Raebareli arrested five men on Saturday for allegedly lynching of Hariom after mistaking him for a drone thief.

Police said Hariom, reportedly mentally unstable, was walking to his in-laws' house in Dandepur Jamunapur when a mob surrounded him and accused him of being a member of a gang marking houses with drones for theft. He was beaten with belts and sticks and died soon after.

Congress' SC Department chief Rajendra Pal Gautam alleged that over the past 10 years, Dalit oppression has increased rapidly in Uttar Pradesh with Dalits being murdered, incidents of social exclusion and institutional discrimination against them.

"In the country, five BJP-ruled states are at the top in cases of Dalit oppression. Seventy five per cent of Dalit oppression incidents have occurred in these five states. Alone in Uttar Pradesh, this figure is 26.2%," he said at a press conference at the Congress' Indira Bhawan headquarters along with party MP Imran Masood.

"In the Raebareli incident, when the Dalit youth was being beaten, he was taking the name of Rahul Gandhi ji, but the accused were seen mocking and saying -- 'Everyone here is a Baba follower'," Gautam claimed.

Does the state government not trust the country's Constitution and laws and is there no need for courts and police in the state, he asked.

"Has law and order completely failed in UP? Have these beasts received protection from Yogi Adityanath? Is there no need for courts in Uttar Pradesh? Does the UP government and their goons not have faith in the law and the Constitution? Have these beasts been given open license to punish anyone without any investigation?" Gautam said.

Citing the NCRB report, he said that in 2023, 57,789 cases of crimes against Dalits were registered across the country.

In Uttar Pradesh, 15,130 cases of crimes against Dalits were registered, which is the highest in the country, he claimed.

"The incident in Raebareli shows that law and order in Uttar Pradesh has completely collapsed," he said.

Putting forward the party's demands, Gautam said that taking responsibility for this incident, Adityanath should resign.

"The UP government should provide 1 crore compensation to the victim's family. One member of the victim's family should be given a government job The incident should be investigated by an SIT and the guilty should be given strict punishment," he said.

In his remarks, Masood alleged that the country's Constitution is in danger.

"Crimes are increasing in the country and our image is being tarnished in the entire world. The BJP government does not respect the Constitution and Dalits are being continuously oppressed in the country," he claimed.

Even after the instructions of the CJI of the Supreme Court, bulldozers are still being operated, Masood said.

In Uttar Pradesh, crimes against women and Dalits are at their peak, he said, adding that this shows that the BJP government has completely failed in establishing the rule of law.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has spoken to the father and brother of the Dalit youth lynched in Raebareli and stands in complete solidarity with them in this hour of unbearable grief, AICC media and publicity department head Pawan Khera has said.

In a post on X on Sunday, Khera said the horrific lynching is both heartbreaking and enraging.

"In his final moments, as he was being mercilessly beaten with sticks and belts, the deceased young man remembered his last hope - Shri Rahul Gandhi," he said.

"For Rahul ji, who represents Raebareli in Parliament and considers its people his family, this tragedy is deeply wounding. He has personally spoken to the father and brother of the deceased and stands in complete solidarity with them in this hour of unbearable grief," Khera said.

"He (Gandhi) has also expressed his profound concern over the dangerous normalisation of lynching in India, vowing that such violent elements must face their legal end. Justice must be served," the Congress leader said.

Gandhi is currently on a four-nation tour of South America. PTI ASK ASK DV DV