Priyanka Gandhi slams Yogi govt: ‘Innocents tortured, criminals protected’

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lashed out at the Uttar Pradesh police, saying law and order has become a ‘joke’ for the department. The Congress general secretary also alleged that torturing the innocent and protecting criminals has become the ‘basic mantra’ for the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government.

“In Raebareli, a public facility centre operator, Ravi Chaurasia, was robbed of ₹8 lakh. The miscreants snatched his bag full of money and fled. For some reasons, they left the bag on the roadside and ran away. That bag was found by a businessman named Deepu. When Deepu went to get the bag deposited at a police station along with some people, police put him in jail,” Priyanka Gandhi said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Priyanka’s brother Rahul Gandhi is Member of Parliament (MP) from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh. Her comments on law and order under BJP government come after Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav launched an veiled attack on the Adityanath government saying that he is not bothered by remarks made by someone who is ‘on his way out.’ Yadav, the former Chief Minister, claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government frequently faced criticism from the courts over law and order.

“Businessmen protested against this. Seeing the protest, the investigation was handed over to another police station. In the investigation, it was found that Deepu did his duty as a good citizen but police made him an accused. On this basis, the court granted bail to Deepu,” Priyanka said in the post on the social media platform in Hindi.

“Torturing the innocent and giving protection to criminals – this has become the basic mantra for the administration in Uttar Pradesh,” Gandhi alleged.

Gaurav alias Deepu, a resident of Jamunipur Charuhar in Raebareli, had gone to the police station to get the bag containing money deposited, but was wrongfully accused of robbery and jailed. Deepu was arrested on August 26, sparking protests from locals. He was released on Saturday evening following an inquiry, officials said.

Deepu had found the bag while returning home after fetching water on August 20 and promptly reported the matter to the local police station, accompanied by a representative of the village head.

However, police charged him with robbery, leading to his arrest. Villagers and local business owners held protests demanding his release. They argued that Deepu was innocent. In the wake of the public outcry, police launched an investigation and ultimately, concluded that Deepu was not involved in the robbery.

Torturing the innocent and giving protection to criminals – this has become the basic mantra for the administration in Uttar Pradesh.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sanjeev Kumar Sinha said due to lack of evidence, police have released Deepu.