Lucknow, Oct 11 (PTI) The family members of Hariom Valmiki, who was beaten to death by a mob in the Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh after being mistaken for a thief, met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday, according to an official statement.
Valmiki, a Dalit and native of the Fatehpur district, was beaten to death by a mob in the Unchahar area of Rae Bareli on October 2 after being mistaken for a thief. Police have so far arrested 12 accused in the case.
An official statement said Hariom Valmiki's wife, Sangeeta Valmiki, along with her father Chhote Lal and daughter Ananya, met CM Adityanath, accompanied by Manoj Pandey, the MLA from Unchahar. The chief minister expressed his condolences to the bereaved family.
According to the statement, after meeting the chief minister, Sangeeta Balmiki, said, "Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has supported us at every level. I am grateful to him. Baba is the only one who can protect Dalits. We are completely satisfied with the government's action and are confident that justice will be served." The chief minister said that the family will be provided housing under the Chief Minister's Housing Scheme. Sangeeta Balmiki will also be given a permanent job at her workplace, and the family will be covered by all government welfare schemes.
Adityanath said that the accused were arrested within 24 hours of the incident. The safety and respect of Dalits, the deprived, and the exploited is the state government's top priority. He said that the state government will effectively pursue the case in court and ensure the strictest punishment for the perpetrators.
Earlier, Rakesh Sachan, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Khadi, Handloom and Textiles, and Asim Arun, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Social Welfare, had met the bereaved family on Saturday and assured them of justice and strict action against the perpetrators.
On the other hand, the Congress claimed the party's state president was prevented from visiting the victim's family.
A statement issued by the party claimed that Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president and former minister Ajay Rai was on his way to Valmiki's residence in Fatehpur on Saturday to express condolences to his family and provide financial assistance on behalf of the party, but the government prevented him from going.
After being stopped by the police, the state Congress president got out of his car and sat on a dharna on the road. Several leaders, including former minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Sitapur MP Rakesh Rathore, were present with him on this occasion. According to the statement, the police administration then sent all the leaders and workers present with Rai to the police line by bus.
The statement claimed that the Congress has stood with the family of the deceased from the very first day. After the incident, Valmiki was taken to the hospital, and after his death was confirmed, Congress members from Rae Bareli remained present at the scene until the post-mortem was conducted.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
