BY S VENKAT NARAYAN

Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, October 1:

Rahul Gandhi, former President of India’s opposition Congress Party was hit with a lathi and fell to the ground in a pushback by the Uttar Pradesh police after he, his sister Priyanka Gandhi and scores of party workers were stopped on the Delhi-Noida highway. They were going to Hathras to meet the family of a 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died in a Delhi hospital after being gang-raped earlier this week.

The two leaders have been detained. However, the Congress alleges that the Gandhis have been arrested. The police stopped the Gandhis, citing imposition of Section 144, which prohibits assembly of four or more people.

Pictures from the scene showed Rahul Gandhi being held back by the cops, in one of the photographs, he is seen taking a tumble while a policeman is holding on to the leader’s kurta to stop him from falling. In the next one, the Congress leader is on the ground. The party workers and his security men quickly gathered around to help shore him up.

Gandhi said he would peacefully march alone to Hathras as that would not be in violation of Section 144 that prohibits public assembly. He demanded to know under which law he was being stopped.

“I am standing here peacefully. I want to march alone to Hathras. Section 144 talks about public assembly. I will go alone to Hathras. On what basis are you detaining me?” Gandhi asked the cops present on the scene.

The Uttar Pradesh Congress has called for a state-wide protest against the police action on Gandhis.

“The cowardly UP Govt has arrested Shri @RahulGandhi & Smt @PriyankaGandhi for seeking justice & trying to meet the bereaved Hathras victim’s family. I appeal to all PCCs and @INCIndia workers to protest today against the arrest of Rahul ji, Priyanka ji & other party leaders,” tweeted Congress general secretary KC Venugopal.

Earlier in the day, Congress workers milled around the two leaders as Rahul Gandhi, his face mask on, led the march, with Priyanka, who was recently retained as general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, right behind him.

Scores of reporters and people were seen clicking pictures of the two leaders as they went about their padyatra under the October sun.

The 19-year-old Dalit woman, who died in a Delhi hospital on Tuesday a fortnight after she was gang-raped at Hathras while she was out to collect fodder with her mother, 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.

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi urged the opposition to not increase the tension through “political tourism”, and said the state government is working to punish the criminals for their “barbarism”. The minister, however, did not name any party.

Members of Dalit groups and activists alleged that the early morning cremation was done to prevent any mobilisation or protests in the village. “The whole world is watching how the government and the police together cremated our sister in the absence of her family. I have been taken into custody and put under house arrest in Saharanpur; but we will continue to fight,” said Chandrasekhar Azad, chief of the Bhim Army, who had led protests outside Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday.

Amid nationwide outrage and calls for his resignation, state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday spoke to the family via video-link. The chief minister has said a fast-track court will handle the case for speedy justice. The special investigation team has been constituted to probe the matter and asked to submit its report within seven days.

“The CM has spoken to the father of the deceased woman of Hathras. Her father asked for harshest penalty against the accused. The CM assured him that the most stringent action shall be taken against the accused and all possible help shall be provided to the family of the deceased,” Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi said yesterday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to the CM and asked him to ensure strict action against the accused.