Priyanka slams UP govt over girl's death in hostel

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at the BJP regime in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday over the death of a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) student in September, alleging that she was raped but the Yogi Adityanath government kept dragging the case, despite the deceased's family demanding swift action.

On September 16, the body of the 17-year-old girl, a Class 11 student of JNV, Bhongaon, was found hanging from the ceiling of her hostel room.

"The reason why Uttar Pradesh is at the top in crimes against women can be gauged from the fact that the body of a student of Mainpuri Navodaya Vidyalaya was found in the hostel on September 16," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet.

"The family of the girl repeatedly kept pleading with the administration to bring out the truth. But nothing happened. The student was raped. But the Uttar Pradesh government's administration kept dragging the case. This is the fourth such incident. Shameful," the Congress general secretary said, citing a media report on the incident.

She had earlier written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, seeking an urgent inquiry in the case, asserting that action in the matter was of utmost importance for the safety of girls in the state.

In her letter to Adityanath, Priyanka Gandhi had said the incident was heart wrenching and it assumed importance in the context of the security of girls studying in various institutions in the state.

The girl's father had lodged an FIR against the school principal and two students, alleging that his daughter was killed.