Tweeting a picture where Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi is seen visibly manhandled on her way to visit Hathras gang-rape victim’s family, Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday asked if there is no woman police officer in Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath-led government.

Raut raised the question in a tweet by sharing a picture where a male police officer is seen grabbing Priyanka Gandhi’s kurta near the shoulder. The visual is from earlier on Saturday when a delegation of Congress leaders comprising Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi departed for Hathras village in a second attempt.

Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi had announced their plans to visit Hathras to meet the aggrieved family of a 19-year-old Dalit woman who was gang-raped by four men on September 14. She later succumbed to her injuries and passed away two weeks later at a hospital in Delhi.

Also read | ‘Will continue to fight till justice is served’: Priyanka Gandhi in Hathras

After their visit, the Congress leaders said their party stands with the aggrieved family after meeting Hathras gang-rape victim’s kin on Saturday.

Priyanka Gandhi consoled the victim’s mother and said that they will together stand strong in the face of injustice against the family.

“The family couldn’t see their daughter for the one last time. UP CM Yogi Adityanath should understand his responsibility. Till the time justice is delivered, we’ll continue this fight,” she said after meeting the victim’s family.

Rahul Gandhi said that the state government must protect the grieving family. “I stand with the family. It is the responsibility of the state government to ensure their safety,” he said.

The leaders stayed with the family for over an hour after they reached Hathras around 6.45pm following a series of dramatic events, including their detainment by the UP Police on Thursday on grounds of violating Section 144 and the pandemic law.

In a high-voltage drama, the Congress delegation was stopped on their way at the Delhi-Noida border, triggering a minor altercation between Congress volunteers and the Uttar Pradesh police officers deployed at the border. Scores of police personnel in riot gear were lined up at the Delhi-Noida Direct flyway to prevent the Congress convoy from moving to Hathras, about 180 km away.

Also read: Nation wants justice for India’s daughter, tweets Rahul Gandhi hours after visiting Hathras

Eventually, as swarms of Congress workers and others jostled with each other amid loud honking, slogans and Congress flags fluttering in the air, the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police finally allowed five people, including Rahul Gandhi, to go to Hathras. Congress workers – some who described what happened as “brutal repression” — claimed police used batons to disperse the crowd. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were previously detained on Thursday when they tried to go to Hathras.

(With inputs from PTI)