Dalit man brings bodies to Rae Bareli, speaks to Rahul

Rae Bareli: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday spoke on the phone to the man whose son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters were shot dead by unknown assailants in nearby Amethi.

Senior Congress leader and former Rae Bareli-Amethi MP Sonia Gandhi also extended her sympathies to the bereaved family through her son.

Congress’ state president Ajay Rai said in Lucknow he was also on his way to Rae Bareli to meet

the bereaved family.

Ram Gopal, aged about 60, arrived in Sudamapuri village in the Unchahar area of Rae Bareli with the bodies of his family members, who were killed in their rented accommodation on Thursday evening.

Sunil Kumar, 35, a government school teacher, his 32-year-old wife Poonam, and the couple’s two daughters, Drishti and Suni, were shot dead in the Ahorwa Bhawani area of Amethi.

Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma, who came to Rae Bareli at Rahul’s behest, arranged his phone call with Gopal, which lasted about three minutes, according to visuals.

The brazen wipeout of the Dalit family has drawn widespread denunciation of the state government.

“The way my son has gone, they (killers) should go the same way,” Gopal told reporters earlier in the day in Amethi.

Sharma said he had been in touch with Gopal since yesterday.

“I have spoken to the DM of Amethi and asked him to probe the case from all angles. Let the police investigation get completed,” he said.

“The government keeps patting its back, claiming good law and order, but if that is the case, why are such incidents happening?” he asked.

Sharma, a first-time MP, said it was Rae Bareli MP Rahul who had asked him to go to his constituency.