Rahul meets victim's family

Hours ahead of the Leader of Opposition's visit, the victim's brother Shivam Valmiki allegedly released a video in with the family purportedly stated that Gandhi should not use the visit for political purpose, but the Congress party claimed that the video was an attempt by the BJP to create pressure and manipulate the situation

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Friday said the brutal murder of Dalit villager Hariom Valmiki in Raebareli has "shaken the conscience" of the entire nation, and accused the administration of trying to intimidate the victim's family.

Gandhi, who met with the family of the deceased in Fatehpur district, also charged that authorities tried to stop the family of Valmiki from meeting him.

In a post on X in Hindi, Gandhi said, "The brutal murder of Hariom Valmiki has shaken the conscience of the entire nation. There was a question in his family's eyes along with pain: Is being a Dalit still a deadly crime in this country?"

"The administration in Uttar Pradesh is busy intimidating the victim's family. They even tried to prevent the family from meeting me. This is the same failure of the system --? which, every time, shields the perpetrators and puts the victim in the dock," Gandhi charged.

Maintaining that "justice cannot be put under house arrest", the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said the BJP government must end the pressure on the victim's family and ensure the harshest punishment for the culprits.

"I stand firmly with Hariom Valmiki's family and every exploited, deprived, and vulnerable citizen of the country. This fight is not just for Hariom -it is for every voice that refuses to bow to injustice," he said on X.