Raebareli lynching victim's family members meet CM Adityanath

Lucknow, Oct 11 (PTI) The family members of Hariom Valmiki, who was beaten to death by a mob in the Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh after being mistaken for a thief, met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday, according to an official statement.

Valmiki, a Dalit and native of the Fatehpur district, was beaten to death by a mob in the Unchahar area of Rae Bareli on October 2 after being mistaken for a thief. Police have so far arrested 12 accused in the case.

An official statement said Hariom Valmiki's wife, Sangeeta Valmiki, along with her father Chhote Lal and daughter Ananya, met CM Adityanath, accompanied by Manoj Pandey, the MLA from Unchahar. The chief minister expressed his condolences to the bereaved family.

Earlier, Rakesh Sachan, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Khadi, Handloom and Textiles, and Asim Arun, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Social Welfare, had met the bereaved family on Saturday and assured them of justice and strict action against the perpetrators.

On the other hand, the Congress claimed the party's state president was prevented from visiting the victim's family.

A statement issued by the party claimed that Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president and former minister Ajay Rai was on his way to Valmiki's residence in Fatehpur on Saturday to express condolences to his family and provide financial assistance on behalf of the party, but the government prevented him from going.

After being stopped by the police, the state Congress president got out of his car and sat on a dharna on the road. Several leaders, including former minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Sitapur MP Rakesh Rathore, were present with him on this occasion. According to the statement, the police administration then sent all the leaders and workers present with Rai to the police line by bus.

The statement claimed that the Congress has stood with the family of the deceased from the very first day. After the incident, Valmiki was taken to the hospital, and after his death was confirmed, Congress members from Rae Bareli remained present at the scene until the post-mortem was conducted. PTI CDN MNK MNK