Uttar Pradesh govt practices and supports caste discrimination: AAP MP

Aam Aadmi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Saturday slammed the Yogi Adityanath government of caste bias while noting that the government did not talk to the family of the Prayagraj victims.

"Whatever happened in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on November 24 is more gruesome than the Hathras incident. It is a matter of shame that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has not spoken to the bereaved family yet, which shows that the Uttar Pradesh government practices caste discrimination and supports it," Singh said in an audio message.

Four members of a Scheduled Caste family were found murdered at their home in Prayagraj on November 25. The victims include a 16-year-old girl who may have been raped before death. The extended family have accused the neighbouring upper caste family of the crime. Noting the grievous injuries on the bodies of the murdered, including a 50-year-old man, his wife, daughter and their 10-year-old speech impaired son, the police said that a sharp weapon might have been used for the attack. While the girl's body was found in a room inside the house, the other three were found in the courtyard.

"This heinous crime took place at a time when BJP was celebrating Constitution Day across the nation. If the party had upheld the values of the Constitution seriously, then the last person from the most deprived section of the society would not have had to face such a difficult time," the AAP leader said.

"I met their extended family. Brother of the deceased serves in the Army. He is serving the nation. Even his wife said that she feels unsafe there. All this is possible because of police's recklessness and goondaraj in Yogi Adityanath's regime," Singh stated. "The same family was being troubled by their neighbours since 2019. They filed an FIR, but police did not help them," he added.

"In 2020, again they went to the police for help but no action was taken against the perpetrators, and on November 24, they were killed in such a gruesome manner. After a commotion, police have registered an FIR with charges including gang rape and murder against 11 named persons, eight of whom have been arrested so far," he said.

The Prayagraj police chief has informed the media that some have been taken into custody for questioning in the case. On Friday, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had met the family members of the victims.