Members of Valmiki community protest rape of Hathras victim, block Chandigarh-Ambala highway

Tribune News Service

Mohali, October 1

Members of the Valmiki community here on Thursday blocked the Chandigarh-Ambala national highway in protest against the rape and murder of Dalit girl in Hathras.

The blockade caused problems for many daily commuters.

The protesters carrying banners arrived at the Chandigarh-Punjab border in the morning and blocked the road, resulting in a heavy traffic jam on both sides of the national highway.

The protesters raised slogans against the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh for not taking immediate action against the accused, who had gang-raped the Dalit girl, and demanded that all four accused should be hanged. They further warned the government that if immediate action was not taken against the accused, they would be forced to launch an agitation, for which the state and the Central Government would be responsible.

The daily commuters going for their offices in Chandigarh were a harassed lot as they had to wait for almost two hours till the dharna ended and the Punjab and Chandigarh police cleared the traffic in their respective area. The police had also diverted the traffic so that the commuters did not face any problem.

Sushil Kumar, who works in an IT Company in Mohali, said he was struck in the jam for about two hours and had to take the leave as he could not reach the office in time. He said the administration should have made alternative arrangements in advance.

Another commuter who works in a hospital in Chandigarh, Gurmeet Kaur, said as she was stuck in the traffic jam, her senior continued to make calls asking her to reach the hospital by an alternative road. She said as she was stuck in the middle of the traffic, she could not return to take an alternative route to reach the hospital.