Under attack from the opposition, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today met the family of the two Dalit children who were burnt alive at a village near Delhi on Monday and assured them that the guilty would be punished at the earliest. But soon after he left, angry locals held a protest march and raised slogans against him.
Mr Khattar was expected to meet the family yesterday, but his visit was cancelled after protests by angry locals. When asked why he was visiting the village three days after the deaths, he said his ministers were keeping a watch on the situation. "My eyes are on this case every minute. My ministers have been here from day one on my behalf."
When Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi visited Sonped village in Faridabad district yesterday, he attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his party the BJP which rules the state and chief minister Mr Khattar and blamed their "attitude" for such tragedies.
"This is an attitude shared by the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister, the BJP and the RSS - if somebody is weak, they can be crushed. This government is not for the poor," he had said.
The children-- two-and-a-half year old Vaibhav and 11-month-old Divya - died after their house was set on fire, allegedly by members of an upper caste community.
Their mother Rekha has suffered 70 per cent burns, their father also sustained injuries.
Seven accused have been arrested for the death of the children. Four more are yet to be traced. Mr Khattar's government yesterday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI probe into the deaths.
The family of the children has alleged that the attack was the fallout of a long-standing feud with a group of upper caste people in the village. But the kin of the accused have denied the allegation.
Angry locals blocked a highway near the national capital yesterday and said they would not cremate the children till all those accused in the case were arrested. They also held a march carrying the bodies of the children.
Later in the day, the protest was called off after the police managed to convince the family to cremate the children. Their last rites were performed late in the evening.
Mr Khattar was expected to meet the family yesterday, but his visit was cancelled after protests by angry locals. When asked why he was visiting the village three days after the deaths, he said his ministers were keeping a watch on the situation. "My eyes are on this case every minute. My ministers have been here from day one on my behalf."
When Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi visited Sonped village in Faridabad district yesterday, he attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his party the BJP which rules the state and chief minister Mr Khattar and blamed their "attitude" for such tragedies.
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi met the family of the two Dalit Children in Sonped yesterday.
The children-- two-and-a-half year old Vaibhav and 11-month-old Divya - died after their house was set on fire, allegedly by members of an upper caste community.
Their mother Rekha has suffered 70 per cent burns, their father also sustained injuries.
Vaibhav and Divya were sleeping in their house when it was set on fire, allegedly by members of an upper caste community.
The family of the children has alleged that the attack was the fallout of a long-standing feud with a group of upper caste people in the village. But the kin of the accused have denied the allegation.
Angry locals blocked a highway near the national capital yesterday and said they would not cremate the children till all those accused in the case were arrested. They also held a march carrying the bodies of the children.
Angry locals blocked the Faridabad-Balabhgarh highway yesterday
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