Day after meeting kin of Sonbhadra victims, Priyanka says they are 'living in fear'

A day after meeting kin of Sonbhadra firing victims, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday hit out at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath government stating that no police post was set up in Umbha village and residents are "living in fear".

Priyanka, in a series of Hindi tweets, criticised the Uttar Pradesh government over the incident wherein tribal farmers were allegedly killed over a property dispute by the village headman and his associates in Ghorawal on July 17.

"After speaking to the tribal sisters and brothers of Umbha village in Sonbhadra, it was clear that they will remain insecure until they get the ownership to their lands," the Congress general secretary's tweet roughly translates to.

She said that the cases filed by the accused headman against the women and men of the village and the "Gunda Act charges put against them by the administration should be quashed".

"Not a single police post has been set up in the village yet. The residents of Umbha are still living in fear," she asserted.

Priyanka had promised the kin of the victims that she will visit to meet them.

Last month, the local administration had not allowed Priyanka to visit the site where the violence took place and meet the families of the victims. She had later met the locals at the Chunar guesthouse in neighbouring Mirzapur, where she was detained.

She had announced that the Congress would provide Rs 10 lakh each to the families of those killed.

The incident took place on July 17 at Umbha village of Sonbhadra's Ghorawal where the village head went to take possession of his land purchased two years ago. However, he was met with opposition from the villagers, which triggered the firing, allegedly by his aides, leading to ten deaths.