Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday spoke to the Dalit man whose family including son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters were shot dead by an unknown assailant in nearby Amethi.   

“A Dalit family was shot dead in a brutal incident in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh. Today MP Shri Kishori Lal Sharma made the victim’s family talk to the Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi. Strict action should be taken against the culprits in this case and the victims should get justice,” the Congress said in a post on X.

According to PTI, Ram Gopal (60) arrived in Sudamapuri village in the Unchahar area of Rae Bareli with the bodies of his family members, who were killed in their rented home on Thursday evening.

Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma, who came to Rae Bareli at Gandhi’s behest, arranged the phone call, which lasted about three minutes according to visuals.

Sunil Kumar, 35, a government school teacher, his 32-year-old wife Poonam, and the couple’s two daughters, Drishti and Suni, were shot dead in the Ahorwa Bhawani area of Amethi.

“The way my son has gone, they (killers) should go the same way,” Ram Gopal told reporters earlier in the day in Amethi.

The Amethi MP said he had been in touch with Ram Gopal since yesterday. Sharma said he has spoken to the DM of Amethi and asked him to probe the case from all angles. “Let the police investigation get completed,” he said.

“The government keeps patting its back, claiming good law and order, but if that is the case, why such incidents are happening?” he asked.

Sharma, a first-time MP, said it was Rae Bareli MP Rahul Gandhi who had asked him to go to his constituency.

Speaking to reporters, Sharma said: “I spoke to Rahul ji and apprised him about the incident and the situation. He asked me to reach the village. The incident happened in my constituency and the victims were natives of Rahul ji’s parliamentary constituency. Both constituencies are associated with the Gandhi family. He directed me to come here and I am here.”

According to police, Poonam had lodged a police complaint against Chandan Verma in Rae Bareli on August 18 under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and for harassment.

The deceased Poonam had written in the complaint that if anything happens to her or her family, Verma should be held responsible for it, Amethi Superintendent of Police Anoop Kumar Singh said on Thursday.

High drama unfolded at Mantralaya, the state Secretariat in south Mumbai on Friday after some tribal leaders, including Maharashtra Assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal, jumped from the third floor of the state’s Mantralaya and got stuck on the safety net over the tribal quota issue.

Zirwal’s extreme move came amidst the ongoing protest against the ST (Scheduled Tribe) reservation demanded by the Dhangar community. 

Police present at the moment said nobody was injured in the incident. The protesters included two MLAs and an MP from the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state.

Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar faction MLA Narhari Zirwal and Kiran Lahamate and BJP’s tribal MP Hemant Savara were among those who jumped from the third floor onto the safety net, that was installed in 2018 after a spate of suicide attempts at the secretariat.

After police personnel removed these leaders from the net, the tribal representatives then gathered in the ground floor passage and began a sit-in claiming that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was not meeting them to discuss the quota issue.

“I am an adivasi first and then an MLA and a deputy speaker,” Zirwal told reporters when asked what led him to resort to such a protest. “CM Shinde should meet the protesters,” he added.

BJP MLC Gopichand Padalkar said Zirwal holds a constitutional post and there is no need to take such an extreme step.

Zirwal said the state government should offer protection to students who have been protesting since a fortnight against the halt to recruitment under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) in Maharashtra.

Dhangars, a different community from Dhangads, which already enjoy ST status. Dhangars are part of the shepherd community, which falls within the Other Backward Classes category. They hail from western Maharashtra and Marathwada region and have been demanding inclusion in the ST category.

The agitating Dhangars claim that they are the same as Dhangads and are subsequently demanding a similar status.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the families of victims who died in a road accident in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur on Friday.

“The road accident in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh is extremely painful. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families of those who lost their lives in it. May God give them strength to bear this pain. Along with this, I wish for the speedy recovery of all the injured,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

The Prime Minister said that under the supervision of the state government, the local administration is engaged in helping the victims in every possible way.

According to police, as many as ten people were killed and three injured when a truck collided with a tractor-trolley carrying labourers in the district early Friday.

Mirzapur Superintendent of Police Abhinandan said the incident occurred around 1 am on G T Road between Kachhawan and Mirzamurad areas on the Mirzapur-Varanasi border.

“The tractor trolley, carrying 13 labourers who were returning from construction work in Bhadohi district, was hit from behind by the truck that had gone out of the driver’s control,” the police officer said.

“Of the 13 injured, 10 died while the three others were taken to the hospital at the IIT-BHU, where their condition is stated to be normal,” the officer said.

The prime minister has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF (PM’s National Relief Fund) for the next of kin of each deceased in the road accident in Mirzapur, UP. The injured would be given Rs 50,000, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a post on X.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also announced a similar compensation for the kin of the deceased.

Adityanath expressed condolences to the bereaved families of the deceased and directed the district administration officials to ensure proper treatment for those injured, wishing them a speedy recovery.

A case has been registered at the Kachhawan police station and further legal proceedings are underway, SP Abhinandan added.

The officer said that authorities are conducting a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the accident.

According to the police, those killed were Bhanu Pratap (25), Vikas Kumar (20), Anil Kumar (35), Suraj Kumar (22), Sanohar (25), Rakesh Kumar (25), Prem Kumar (40), Rahul Kumar (26), Nitin Kumar (22), Roshan Kumar (17), PTI reported.

Three injured hospitalised in Varanasi were Akash Kumar (18), Jamuni (26) and Ajay Saroj (50). All of them were residents of Varanasi district, the police added.