A four-member delegation of the the Trinamool Congress, on it's way to meet the family of the Hathras victim was stopped 1.5 kms from their residence.
The delegation, consisting of TMC MPs Derek O'Brien, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Pratima Mondal, as well as leader Mamata Thakur, alleged that they were mishandled by the Uttar Pradesh Police.
The Trinamool has further alleged that MP Pratima Mondal was "touched inappropriately by male officers".
"When we were headed to meet the Dalit victim's family in Hathras to express our solidarity, Yogi government's police stopped us. I am an MP and a woman from the Scheduled Caste community. Why wasn't I allowed to enter? I was touched inappropriately by a male officer of the Uttar Pradesh police. They violated the respect of a Dalit woman today. Imagine the irony, it's October 2 today, Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. On a day like this, if the Yogi government's police force can behave so inappropriately with an MP, imagine how they behave with the women of the state and the general public", said Mondal in a statement.
In a video that has surfaced, the delegation and police can be seen getting into altercation after which Derek O'Brien was shoved around, before falling to the ground.
The delegation continued to sit in protest about 1km from the victim's house.
"The allegations are totally false. Women constables requested them to go back as no one is allowed to enter the village. When they tried to enter forcibly, women constables stopped them," said SDM of Hathras Sadar Prem Prakash Meena, on the party's allegations.
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