THE family of the alleged Meerut gangrape and forced conversion victim waited in vain for four hours on Friday for Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to arrive.
The staff of Yashoda Hospital were also called in early in anticipation of the Rahul?s visit and local Congressmen thronged the hospital courtyard till news came in that the Amethi MP had left for a meeting in Parliament and would not be able to come.
However, Rajnath Singh?s son Neeraj and Sardhana MP Sangeet Som met the victim and her family members at the hospital and also went to their village in Hapur promising to fight for a CBI inquiry and toughest possible punishment for the accused. Congress sources say Rahul Gandhi had no plan to visit the victim.
?At 5.30 this morning we got news that Rahul Gandhi would come to visit her. There were Congress leaders all over the place and policemen too. Everytime the lift would open, people would jump up thinking he had come. This went on for four hours till we got to know that he would not come as he had left for a meeting in Parliament,? said a brother-in-law of the victim who is admitted in the hospital with an infection in her abdomen.
Hospital medical superintendent Sangeeta Garg too confirmed that Rahul Gandhi had been expected all morning. ?I got a call around 6.40 am and rushed to the hospital immediately. People had been called in and there was a huge crowd at the gate,? Dr Garg told The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, Neeraj and Som spent some time with the victim in the hospital, promising all possible help. They then went to Sarawa and met the victim?s family.
?They have said they will knock all possible doors for a CBI inquiry and also ensure that the guilty get stringent punishment,? said the victim?s father. Doctors at Yashoda say the woman is recovering well and may be discharged in the next two-three days.
