Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the police of attacking Dalits in Azamgarh. (File)
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the Uttar Pradesh police of attacking Dalits in Azamgarh, and sought action against the accused and adequate compensation for the victims.
"There's news about the attack on Dalit families in Palia village in Azamgarh. Houses were damaged, and cases were registered. This indicates the anti-Dalit mindset of the government. Immediate action should be taken against the accused, and compensation should be given to the victims," she said in a tweet in Hindi.
According to the police, there was a dispute between a doctor and some people in the area on June 29, following which two policemen posted at a picket intervened in the matter.
Police allege that the village head (pradhan) and his aide attacked the officials.
Azamgarh district unit president of Congress Praveen Kumar Singh claimed on the same night, police surrounded the Dalit hamlet in the village and damaged their houses and looted them. After this, the men and children fled from the village, he said.
"The Congressmen are staging a sit-in against the incident. We are demanding that action be taken against the guilty policemen and compensation be given to the families," Mr Singh said.
Meanwhile, senior police official Sudhir Kumar Singh said that a case has been registered against 11 named people and 135 unidentified people. He also said that cops were attacked, and efforts are on to catch the accused.
Police also said that the houses were damaged by unidentified people.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)