Priyanka Gandhi attacks BJP over ‘cop harassment’ video

DEHRADUN: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has taken cognisance of the viral video purportedly showing police and CISF staff stopping a group of three women and a man carrying grass near Helang village of Chamoli.

On Monday, she attacked the Uttarakhand BJP over the issue by uploading the video and saying that the locals, who protect the hills, are being stopped from cutting grass. She added that the BJP government is snatching the rights of forest dwellers and tribals, and preventing locals in the hills from using natural resources.

Echoing her opinion, Uttarakhand Congress leader Garima Dasauni said, “It is an extremely serious issue. Firstly, people living in the hills are being deprived of basic needs and infrastructure. Now, the BJP government is denying them access to natural resources. It is such a sorry state of affairs that women cannot even cut grass and leaf for their cattle.”

Independent MLA from Khanpur, Umesh Sharma, has also raised the issue. Sharma recently met chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and sought action against cops for “misbehaving with women who were carrying grass for their cattle”. On the other hand, police have maintained that only a small portion of the video is being circulated to malign their image. Police added that the people that can be seen in the video have encroached upon government land and are not leaving it. Earlier, the women who can be seen in the video had accused Chamoli police of harassing them.

Notably, the dumping zone of the Pipalkoti-Vishnugad hydro-power plant is made on the gram panchayat land in the Helang area of Chamoli district. These women identified as Mandodari Devi, Leela Devi and Sangeeta Bhandari along with Vipin Bhandari had been collecting leaves and grass from the area for a long period.