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

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

The opposition party also demanded a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the victim's family and a government job for one of its members.

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

Police said the victim, 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 allegedly beaten up with belts and sticks and died soon after.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal said, "UP, under CM Yogi Adityanath, has turned into hell for the Dalits, minorities and backward communities. Why is the UP CM silent when monsters are lynching Hariom, a Dalit man, to death and proudly claiming that they are 'Baba wale log' -- almost as if such caste atrocities have his blessings?" "In his dying moments, the victim was heard taking Rahul Gandhi ji's name -- the one true ray of hope for those facing social injustice in India today," Venugopal said.

"Law and order has totally collapsed in UP, despite all of BJP's tall claims to the contrary. It is evident that the BJP-RSS regime has given a free hand to those attacking Dalits and marginalised people," he claimed.

"Let's be clear -- the Constitution given to us by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar is a shield against these 'Baba wale log' who are out to humiliate, insult and subjugate the backwards and the marginalised," the Congress leader said.

"Our fight to save the Constitution is a fight to protect innocent people like Hariom, and we will not rest until the perpetrators are punished and justice is served," he added.

Congress's Scheduled Castes (SC) department chief Rajendra Pal Gautam claimed that incidents of Dalit oppression have increased rapidly in Uttar Pradesh over the last 10 years, including killings and instances of social exclusion and institutional discrimination.

"Five BJP-ruled states are at the top in the country when it comes to cases of Dalit oppression. Seventy five per cent of such incidents have occurred in these five states. Uttar Pradesh alone accounts for 26.2 per cent of these incidents," he said at a press conference at the Congress's Indira Bhawan headquarters here, along with party MP Imran Masood.

"When the Dalit youth was being beaten up in Raebareli, he was taking the name of Rahul Gandhiji, but the accused were seen mocking and saying, 'everyone here is a Baba follower'," Gautam claimed.

Does the Uttar Pradesh 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 Uttar Pradesh? Are these beasts under Yogi Adityanath's protection? Is there no need for courts in Uttar Pradesh? Do the Uttar Pradesh government and its goons not have faith in the law and the Constitution? Have these beasts been given an open licence to punish anyone without any investigation?" Gautam asked.

Citing the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, he said 57,789 cases of crimes against Dalits were registered across the country in 2023.

In Uttar Pradesh, 15,130 such cases were registered, the highest in the country, he claimed.

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

Putting forward the demands of the Congress, Gautam said Adityanath should resign taking responsibility for the incident.

"The Uttar Pradesh government should provide a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the victim's family. A member of the family should be given a government job. The incident should be investigated by an SIT (Special Investigation Team) and the guilty should be given strict punishment," he said.

Masood claimed that the Constitution is in danger.

"Incidents of crime are increasing in the country and our image is being tarnished in the world. The BJP government does not respect the Constitution and Dalits are being continuously oppressed," he said.

Even after instructions from the Supreme Court and the chief justice of India, 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 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state has completely failed in establishing the rule of law.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has spoken to the father and brother of the Dalit man lynched in Raebareli and stands in complete solidarity with them in this hour of 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.

Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, is currently on a four-nation tour of South America. PTI ASK RC