Hathras gang rape: Delhi Mahila Congress workers stage protest, detained

Members of the Delhi Mahila Congress staged a protest at Vijay Chowk demanding justice for the Hathras gang-rape victim, who died at a hospital this morning, following which they were detained

Members of the Delhi Mahila Congress staged a protest at Vijay Chowk here on Tuesday demanding justice for the Hathras gang-rape victim, who died at a hospital this morning, following which they were detained by police.

Congress Rajya Sabha member P L Punia and former MP Udit Raj also joined the protest which was led by Delhi Mahila Congress president Amrita Dhawan.

The protesters were taken to Mandir Marg police station, a senior police officer said.

The Delhi Mahila Congress members demanded that the culprits in the Hathras gang rape case be hanged.

Dhawan said the Mahila Congress members were trying to march towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan to demand justice for the victim when the police detained them.

Punia and Raj were also detained by the police, she said.

A total of 25 men and 11 women protesters were detained and taken to Mandir Marg police station, said Deepak Yadav, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi).

The victim, a 19-year-old Dalit woman, was allegedly raped by four men on September 14 in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras when she had gone to the fields with her mother. The accused tried to strangulate her to death as she resisted their attempt. In the process, the woman bit her tongue and suffered a severe cut on it.

She succumbed to her injuries at Safdarjung Hospital in the early hours of Tuesday.