'Rahul Gandhi's march towards Hathras for politics, not for justice': Smriti Irani

"Rahul Gandhi's march towards Hathras is for politics, not for justice," Irani was quoted as saying by the media during a press conference in Varanasi on new farm laws, recently ratified by Parliament.

The minister said that the Women's Commission has informed her that it is taking all steps to ensure justice to the victim, reported media.

She said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also assured that all those involved in mishandling the case and depriving the young Dalit woman and her family of justice will be punished.

Asked if the Hathras District Magistrate, who threatened the aggrived family with dire consequences if they went ahead with the case, will be punished, she said Adityanath has told her action will be taken based on the SIT investigation.

Meanwhile, Irani's statement on Rahul Gandhi was vehemently opposed by Congress, whose supporters blocked her vehicle, shouting slogans while she was returning from the press conference.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were briefly detained by Uttar Pradesh Police two days ago when they were heading towards Hathras on the grounds of a ban on public assembly in the area. They were taken to a guest house at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida and were later escorted back to Delhi.

A ban was imposed on public gathering and the media and political parties were stopped from meeting the young woman's family as the Uttar Pradesh government clamped Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the area.

Reports said police sealed the village to ensure "outsiders” couldn't access the village, setting up barricades on the main road roughly 2km from the village, closing all access paths and deploying policemen on the field and mud tracks.

The police had said the restrictions had been imposed because of the ongoing probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The young woman was subjected to a savage assault and gang rape when she had gone to a field to collect fodder for cattle on September 14. She had suffered multiple fractures, paralysis, and severe spinal injury and eventually died last Tuesday.

Amid a massive outpour of anger over Uttar Pradesh Police's lackadaisical response and official inertia over the aggrieved family's pleas, her body was taken away forcibly by the cops.

Her family had begged to take her body to their home and do her last rites the next morning. Instead, they were hustled into an SUV right from the hospital and locked in their home in the village while the state police cremated their daughter at 2.30 am, in an act that is being widely viewed as a desperate attempt to cover up its string of lapses.